Art Of Anarchy, featuring Jeff Scott Soto, Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal, Jon Votta, Vince Votta, and Tony Dickinson, released their new album, Let There Be Anarchy, via Pavement last month. Order the album here.
Jeff Scott Soto recently spoke with DJ Zoran Theodorovic of Metal Godz Radio. Listen below.
Metal Godz Radio: Which of the two prior vocalists have been your favourites as singers for Art Of Anarchy, and their previous work as they were both top notch vocalists?
Jeff Scott Soto: "Well, I mean absolutely no disrespect. I respect both Scott's (Stapp and Weiland). I respect what they brought to the table and everything they've done in their careers. But I was never a fan of Stone Temple Pilots or Creed. So, I gotta tell you that for me listening to the Art Of Anarchy stuff, I was listening to it, envisioning what I would have sounded like because I was not really a fan of those singers in terms of the... just not my cup of tea. I'm not saying they're terrible. I'm not saying they're bad. I don't want this clickbait stuff to be like, 'oh Jeff is mocking the two singers previously.' Not at all. Absolute respect, nothing but love and respect for these guys. It's just not my cup of tea. So I, if I had to choose one of the two, I would probably lean more towards the second album, the (Scott) Stapp album because that would be more leaning towards what I would have done to the songs. As a singer, Scott Weiland is more... he's got a personality to his voice that works so well for him and his career in Stone Temple Pilots. And even the first album those guys did together, he's more of a... stylistic like David Lee Roth, he's not like a Steve Perry or Lou Gramm or Freddie Mercury kind of singer. He's more of a character singer that worked for the music based on his character and personality. And so, as a singer, I would probably lean more towards the Stapp stuff."
Metal Godz Radio: How soon can we expect a book or maybe even a spoken word tour of your life experiences?
Soto: I see more of it and more and more. I'd really love to do it. But to be honest with you, it's gotta be... it's gotta happen because there's demand for it. I don't wanna waste my time with my memoirs or even making a documentary... that might be pretty interesting and fascinating with all the different things that I've been able to do, and still struggling to make a name for myself that I think that in itself would make a great book or even film. But I can't waste two or three years out of my life for nobody to see it. It's the same thing with touring, you know, Art Of Anarchy, we wanna go out there and we wanna play, but just because we released an album is not an excuse to just immediately book a tour. We gotta make sure that there's a demand for it, that people wanna see it, and then we wanna get out there and just really bust heads open. That's my mentality for anything. If there's interest, sign me up. If there's, if it's something just for me to do to kind of appease my own ego or whatever, I'm just not interested in wasting the time. There's not much time left to keep wasting time."
Art Of Anarchy is one of those rare bands that doesn't play by rules, except for the ones they break. “Compromise", and "playing it safe" are terms that don't exist in the band’s vocabulary, pulverizing raw talent is what this band has always relied on along with artistic worlds of illusion and sound.
The band has entered into a Renaissance rebirth with a darker more sinister edge, that will reinforce the "anarchy" in Art Of Anarchy. Original founding members Jon Votta (guitar), Vince Votta (drums), and guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal (former Guns N' Roses / Sons Of Apollo) welcome the talents of vocalist Jeff Scott Soto (former Yngwie Malmsteen / Sons Of Apollo) and bassist Tony Dickinson (Soto / Trans-Siberian Orchestra) into this new formation.
The band returns with their comeback album Let There Be Anarchy, which is a reflection of a modern society. With epic songs pushing the eight-minute mark, listeners will be taken to places that they may already be, are going to, or can only imagine. With the band's new lineup, the next chapter in Art Of Anarchy has just begun.
Tracklisting:
"Die Hard"
"Echo Your Madness"
"Vilified"
"Bridge Of Tomorrow"
"Writing On The Wall"
"Rivals"
"Blind Man's Victory"
"Dying Days"
"The Good, The Bad, And The Insane"
"Disarray"
"Die Hard" video:
"Vilified" video:
(Photo - Marc Weiss)
