Most musicians would need time to decompress after a 5 week run of clubs across the States. Not Russ Tippins, founding guitarist of NWOBHM legends Satan, who found himself gearing up for media appearances and an album release show with his “other” band, Tanith. More than just a side project, Tanith are a musical homage to the earliest days of heavy metal music. We spoke with Russ about their brand new album, Voyage, the wonders of recording on tape, and 40 years of Satan’s debut album, Court in the Act.
Greetings Russ and welcome to Defenders of the Faith! How are you doing today?
Russ Tippins: Pretty good! Thanks for having me.
I know you just finished touring the States with Satan last week. How was that?
RT: *laughs* Incredible. Of course, it was literally crazy for us, for lots of reasons that we didn’t expect. But yes, crazy, wild times.
Was that the band’s longest tour here?
RT: Yeah, I think it was the longest tour we’ve ever done. I think we did 3 weeks with Running Wild in 1987 in Germany. That had been the longest. This was 4 or 5 weeks *laughs*.
Incredible. I know you’re keeping busy because from one band to another, this week we’re going to see the release of a new Tanith album, Voyage. When did things start coming together for this album?
RT: Pretty much as soon as the first one was finished. Personally speaking, that’s how I work. In some cases, I have stuff written even before the current one is out. For example, I already have demos for another 3 Tanith songs and Voyage isn’t even out yet. The same goes with Satan. I can’t help when ideas come. I just have to be prepared to drop whatever I’m doing when it happens, make a voice memo.
What are the primary differences between writing for Tanith as opposed to Satan? When you’re coming up with riffs or other musical ideas, do you have an idea in your head like, “This is for Satan.” or “This is for Tanith.”?
RT: It’s uncommon for me not to know what to do with it *laughs*. When ideas come, I immediately kind of think, well, this would be good for Satan. This one would be good for Tanith. Of course, there’s other ideas that I can’t use for either band, but that’s just how I’ve always been. Things occur to me. Before Tanith began, I was having lots of ideas thinking, “Wow, I can’t use this for the band.” It was kind of frustrating, but then it was just an opportunity to create an outlet for that stuff, to form the band with Cindy (Maynard). We were already messing about and playing in cover bands together. It just seemed like a no-brainer. Why don’t we just do something with this stuff?
This will be Tanith’s first album as a power trio. Has this shift impacted the sound or approach of the band at all?
RT: It was a creation of necessity to record it that way. It was thrust upon us at the last moment, the day before recording. We didn’t want Charlie (Newton) to go. For a good 4, 5 days, we began recording, but really we expected him to walk in at any point. After 5, 6 days, we thought, shit, he’s really not coming back. I think that’s probably impacted it more than the fact that there were only 3 of us. We just couldn’t believe it. Recording Charlie’s parts was a technical hurdle we managed to overcome, but that wasn’t the really hard thing. It was losing Charlie as a band member. That was the morale.
Right, especially when you have that chemistry going. That’s the amazing thing about Satan. It’s been that same lineup essentially forever.
RT: Yeah, that was the classic lineup from ‘82 to ‘84, Court in the Act, the shows we did. Right from the reunion, it’s been solid, which it never was back in the 80s.
The beautiful thing about Voyage is not only that it was recorded live, but directly to tape and using vintage gear. Could you tell us a bit about this recording process and how important it is to the band?
RT: I’d always kind of hankered somewhere in my mind to record something old style one day. This was an opportunity to do it. It was a new band, new approach. I guess that was kind of the spark behind why it happened. We tried it out and, having done that, it’s pretty hard to go back to recording in digital, despite the horrific costs of recording it that way. It’s $2,100 just on tapes alone. The process is we record the songs onto 2 inch multitrack tape. I’m sure you remember those big machines, beautiful things they are.
Then, we mixdown onto half inch tape, which is a 2 track stereo. Then that tape goes to a mastering studio up in Peekskill, New York, Masterdisk. That guy, Scott Hull, has mastered every band you can think of, everybody and anybody. What he does is he puts the songs in the sequence that we want and he plays them and masters the sound onto a blank vinyl to create a master vinyl. Obviously, he can adjust the sound levels and EQ and volume while he’s mastering the mixes. Just being there to see that process is mindblowing. At one time, that was the only way you could make a record, was to have it cut that way.
Right. It’s hard to believe now, but that shift to digital was only in the last, what, 20 to 30 years?
RT: I would say since digital recording took over, so probably 30. I would say by the early 90s, it was quite common. By the end of the 90s, it was pretty much all digital.
Tanith’s music draws heavily from the classic metal and hard rock of the 70s. Growing up in the era, who were your favorite bands? Which ones most shaped you as a guitarist and writer?
RT: It was always Led Zeppelin and Jimmy Page for me. I think everyone who knows me knows that. That was the initial inspiration that got me wanting to play guitar. Some of the other bands that I loved were Wishbone Ash, Blue Öyster Cult, Judas Priest, Thin Lizzy, Black Sabbath. Mostly twin guitar bands, but not entirely. Like I said, Zeppelin was my greatest influence and they were one guitar.
Yeah, all of those bands, save for Zeppelin and Sabbath, had the twin guitars. In BÖC’s case, sometimes even more considering they were multi-instrumentalists. That said, what an era for rock n’ roll and heavy metal. All of those bands are personal favorites of mine as well.
RT: Yeah, wasn’t it? When you look back, it’s hard to imagine anything being that good again.
Many of Tanith’s songs are based on fantasy literature. Who are some of your favorite fantasy writers?
RT: Yes, Philip K. Dick. If you don’t know the name, you’ll know a lot of his work. A lot of movies that are very big were based on books written by him, like Total Recall. Blade Runner was based on a book called Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? There was that Tom Cruise movie where he’s a cop and they predict crimes before they happen and arrest people. There’s also a series called The Man in the High Castle. That was a Philip K. Dick book too. That’s a TV show on Amazon. So yeah, that’s one, and of course, H.G. Wells can’t be overlooked. That was my first ever experience with the concept of time travel.
I know Tanith is doing a release show this week out in New York. Can fans expect any further live shows or touring from the band in the near future?
RT: Yes, we’re busy planning that out right now. The irony is, because of the big shutdown in the world for 2 years, it’s been hard to get interest without a product on the market. Now the interest is coming, but everything is booked for 6 months ahead at all the venues because touring right now is pretty crazy. It’s like a catch-22. You gotta have the product out to get the interest. Once the product’s out, everywhere is booked up. It’s gonna be Fall before we can get out and do something. We were quite lucky to get this Saint Vitus date for the record release. We personally know the management there.
The rest of fans will be looking forward to those dates. Going back in time a bit, this year marks the 40th anniversary of Satan’s debut album, Court in the Act. Looking back, what are your thoughts on the album’s staying power and which songs stand out the most to you?
RT: *laughs* 40 years! Somewhere I knew that in the back of my mind, but when you say it out loud, it’s pretty scary *laughs*. At the time, I loved it when we finished it. It was so…we didn’t know how to record or anything. We just knew that we played those songs at shows. We basically went into the studio and just played our show. If we got to the end of the song, from start to finish, that was the take. That was it. We didn’t even listen back. It was like, “Right, that’s down.” *laughs* It was played pretty recklessly too. I think that’s the whole key to what made that record so remarkable, exactly that.
It’s the anti-studio album. The sound is a bit wonky. There’s definitely no short of musical fuck-ups. In the end, they’re not important things. It just has a vibe that people pick up on. We got to be better musicians in the 80s, and more experienced at recording and making stuff sound more professional. In the end, none of that mattered because people just wanted Court in the Act. Then we realized, when we reformed, we were gonna have to try and dial back in some of that energy and recklessness, to try and compete on those kinds of terms. It’s heavy metal. People don’t want perfection. They want to be fucking kicked in the ass or punched in the gut or whatever. That’s why people are into heavy metal.
We managed to do a pretty good job replicating that vibe with the albums over the last 10 years. It’s still the one that people mention. It’s still the one that people ask for when we play shows. My favorite song is probably “Trial by Fire”. It’s the one that stands out. It just sounds like nothing else that nobody’s ever done.
I’m so happy you said that. That’s the one song that, like you said, there’s nothing else like it. It’s such an explosive number, both in the studio and live. The fans just feel the energy every time you play it.
RT: Yeah *laughs* I hear bands covering it, like players on YouTube doing a playthrough. They’re all great musicians, but they’re actually too good to play it the way it’s supposed to be. It’s played a bit wonky. It’s ahead of the beat, which again, wasn’t deliberate. The guitar has to be ahead of the drums. If you play on time with the drums, it sounds robotic. Blind Guardian’s cover sounds kind of robotic. I love that band. I love all of their other songs, but I just want to take their guitarist to one side and say, “Look, this is how you do it. You gotta put these notes in here and there and get ahead of the drums.” *laughs* I guess it’s just a Satan thing.
In closing, coming off the heels of a brilliant album with Satan in Earth Infernal, and now with the equally brilliant Voyage from Tanith, what is your advice for a long and creatively prosperous music career?
RT: Do it for the love of it. If there’s any other motive behind it, then it’s probably not for you. With that motive, then all you have to do is satisfy yourself, that you’re leaving something good for future generations. That’s the best I can offer.
The new Tanith album, Voyage, is available now on Metal Blade Records. For more information on Tanith, visit www.facebook.com/TanithNYC/. For more information on Satan, visit www.satanmusic.com.