Angelic Warlord.

We have some members here in CHM who do more with the CHM than others.
Topshot has a radio show, a very cool radio show.
We have a member who's running a own website full of very interesting news, reviews and more news about cool new and older christian bands.
Is it cool to know a bit more about the members in CHM who do more with music than only listen too?

A next time I try to give an other "activer musicfan" some attention if that's a good idea?

Dynamis, or is it OK to call you Andy?

How long do you run your Angelic Warlord website?

Do you only post your favorite bands ... or do you post as much you can find about all christian bands you can find?

I wonder how do find all your cool information about special the older bands?
Some bands most of us know.
Other bands we've never heard of.

What I admire is that you can write reviews about albums.
I'm really not able to do that.
To label the music style, to show your "readers" special parts of lyrics that touched you is a gift. At least in my opinion.
You always try to get an interview with a band when that band released a new album?

It must ask lots of time to search or is hunt a better work to find interesting information for your website?
Or to know when bands release their new album.

I am sure you have talked with many cool artist.
What was the interview that impressed you the most?
Or the band you didn't like to talk with but had a surprising good interview with?

Are there still bands you try to contact or are there "precious old beauties" we don't knowbut really are worth to listen too?

Your website is a source of very interesting things we like to know.
Thinks you like to know about newer and older bands?

Come on Dynamis! Give us the dirt!

avdb11,

Thank you for your positive words and all of your interesting and well thought out questions! Right now I just got off work, signed on to CHM and found the thread. So I am going to grab a bite to eat, relax a bit and be back in and hour or so with a response.

BTW- yes, it is OK to call me Andy.

Thanks again,

avdb11,

Thanks again for your interest in Angelic Warlord! Right now I would like to take a minute and answer your insightful questions about the site...

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How long do you run your Angelic Warlord website?

I official launched the site in June of 2006. However, I developed the vision for Angelic Warlord in early 2002 but did not begin work on it (the writing process) until January of 2004. The first review I wrote was Angelica's self titled debut. I started the design process two years later. This was the most challenging aspect of completing the site because I had no prior web design experience and did not consider myself "computer literate". So it was, again, quite the challenge learning a complex web design program (and CSS) such as Dreamweaver from scratch.

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Do you only post your favorite bands ... or do you post as much you can find about all christian bands you can find?

Good question. I lean towards writing about every Christian band (or band of Christians or band with Christian members) I can find that fits the sites style guidelines. I took the following from the sites Contact page about the specific type of music I cover:

"The genre of music covered at Angelic Warlord: Melodic rock, melodic hard rock, straightforward hard rock, melodic metal, classic metal, power metal, progressive rock, progressive hard rock, progressive metal and anything in between or combination of the above"

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I wonder how do find all your cool information about special the older bands? Some bands most of us know. Other bands we've never heard of.

I find out about the bands I cover from a variety of sources. One of the main ones is message boards such as here at CHM and CMR. CD Baby is another excellent source as is shoutlife.com. Also, it is not uncommon for a previously never heard of band to take the initiative to contact me or send in a CD for review. One of the most rewarding aspects of running the site is discovering those previously never heard of bands (such as Letter 7 and Judah First).

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What I admire is that you can write reviews about albums. I'm really not able to do that. To label the music style, to show your "readers" special parts of lyrics that touched you is a gift. At least in my opinion.

Thank you for the compliment about my reviews. Yes, I like to go into a great amount of detail when writing a review and include a track by track breakdown and focus on the lyrics as well. Not a lot of sites or reviewers mention lyrics and I feel they are just as important as the music.

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You always try to get an interview with a band when that band released a new album?

This is a real tough question. I would like to do more interviews and wish I could but... it can be difficult to put an interview together. Most of the interviews I have done literally "fell into place". Either I was corresponding with an artist and it made sense to follow up with an interview or the artist took the initiative to contact the site for an interview.

I guess the issue comes down to artist cooperation. For example, I have had no luck "cold calling" an artist and requesting an interview. At the same time, I have had several interviews put together- the artist agreed to the interview and I e-mailed the questions but never heard back from him/her. Not to be critical of the bands/musicians out there because I am sure they are quite busy with music and, at the same time, have lives outside of music as well. So I guess I need to be more patient. Hope I did not come across as venting...

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It must ask lots of time to search or is hunt a better work to find interesting information for your website? Or to know when bands release their new album.

Throughout the month prior to an update to the site I like to collect a lot of band update information from message boards again such as CHM and CMR. A week prior to an update I visit every band site I link to and collect the latest news/info about the artist and release dates as well. You will notice that a lot of the information in the Christian metal news section of the site is direct quotes from the band, usually taken from the News section at the artists website or myspace page. Of course, I always include attribution in terms of a link back to the artists site.

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I am sure you have talked with many cool artist. What was the interview that impressed you the most? Or the band you didn't like to talk with but had a surprising good interview with?

The interview I enjoyed the most was the one with Rex Scott of Zion and X-Sinner. It was interesting corresponding with Rex because of his history in the Christian music scene, dating back to the early eighties with Zion and then X-Sinner. Also, because he answered my questions with so much detail and thought. To be honest, I cannot think of any band/artist I did not want to talk with (I am more than willing to talk with any artist!); actually, all of the interviews I have done were rewarding.

My dream interview would be with Kerry Livgren (Kansas, Proto-Kaw).

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Are there still bands you try to contact or are there "precious old beauties" we don't knowbut really are worth to listen too?

In terms of previously never heard of bands, in the near future I plan to review albums by Early Warning System and Immortal Soul. You can read more about both in the Christian Metal News section in the latest update to the site (from this past weekend). Also, I hope to have a review of the new Main Line Riders online shortly.

One new "recent discovery" is Prodigal (not the band of the same name from the eighties). The "new" Prodigal plays melodic rock similar to Petra. You can hear samples at: http://cdbaby.com/cd/prodigalrock

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Your website is a source of very interesting things we like to know. Thinks you like to know about newer and older bands?

Another good question. I like to cover a healthy combination of new and old bands at Angelic Warlord The access logs at the site support that the visitors to Angelic Warlord like to read about new AND old bands. For example, in recent months I have reviewed albums by Recon, Bloodgood, Barren Cross and Messiah Prophet, which have all attracted a TON of hits. So with each update to the site I like to include a review of at least one "classic" of the past. Last month it was Petra's "On Fire" and next month it is going to be Rez Band's "Civil Rites".

I would like to close by offering a big word of thanks to everyone here at CHM for all of their support and encouraging words! Also, if anyone has any other questions - or bands/albums they would like to see reviewed - do not hesitate to ask or get in touch.

Thanks again,

Andy

Hey really thoughtful answers there Andy. I appreciate the time you took in the response.

Andy, thank you very much for taking the time to answer my questions.

Maybe it helps me to start once to write a review about a CD.
That's the best way to learn things.

When you write about bands I always love it to hear how they sound.
It's only not always possible to find samples of the bands you have written about.

Great interview. Thanks Vonnie and Andy, that was very informative and enjoyable.

Thanks, also. I found AW before I found CMR and CHM and it has greatly helped in educating me about music that was going-on-right-under-my-nose and I was missing it....but, not anymore .

Thanks again everyone for your encouraging words! It makes all the hard work worthwhile!