Making Whiskey, Blood & Napalm

NEW TRACK POSTED!

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Hey Gang,

At long last, we've posted a new track from our forthcoming second album, "II: Whiskey, Blood & Napalm". The song is called "The Mergatroid", and it opens the album, featuring the incredible six-string talents of Steve Theado of American Dog. We hope ya dig it.

Check back over the next week or so, we'll be posting a couple more tunes and we'd love your feedback.

Finally, the CD will be available for purchase and download by the middle of October.

Stay Down,

RLOT

Sneak peek at new Robot Lords album art

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

The new Robot Lords of Tokyo CD Whiskey, Blood & Napalm is set to be released the first week of October - in the meantime you can check out the cover art designed by Eliran Kantor here: http://www.elirankantor.com/index.php?page=robotlords-II

Stay tuned, and watch the skies.....

UPDATES: Robot Lords II album art.......plus a once in a lifetime musical experience!

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Saying its been a good week in Robot Lords Land would be a colossal understatement....

First off, on the album front, I'm thrilled to announce the artist who'll be creating the front cover for the upcoming release of "Robot Lords of Tokyo II: Whiskey, Blood & Napalm", is none other than Eliran Kantor, noted heavy metal graphic artist and all-around brilliant dude. All of Eliran's projects are variously unique and command your attention, but it's his most recent work on Testament's "The Formation of Damnation" that convinced me he had the imagination and appreciation of the inherently EPIC nature of heavy metal that I was looking for. Based on the early roughs I've seen, we are going to have another very "eye-catching" album to share with people when this thing comes out in late September.

I also have to briefly mention the festival I attended in Pittsburgh over the weekend. Although I have a deep obsession with many types of hard rock and heavy metal music, and am clearly influenced to write music for the Robot Lords that comes from the school of Iommi, Franklin, Amott, Windstein, Keenan and other groove-based doom metal merchants, forced at gunpoint I'd have to name prog as the music closest to my heart. (I just can't play it for shit!)

For that reason, the first annual Three Rivers Progfest held this past weekend in Pittsburgh was a recipe for musical nirvana. This was going to be my first time seeing BOTH Spock's Beard and their former frontman and now solo artist Neal Morse. The music of Spock's, particularly the albums when Neal was in the band, place them in an all out dogfight with Rush, Dream Theater, and King's X for the top spot on my Favorite Band list (with UFO and Clutch hanging around outside, occasionally knocking on the door).

To cut to the chase, not only did I get the opportunity to see full headlining sets from both bands, but after Spock's finished their set, they reappeared for the encore with Neal taking center stage. This was the first time they'd played together in probably 7 years or so. Needless to say the crowd went nuts as they played their epic "The Light" from the debut. If you aren't familiar with the genre, Neal Morse is a legendary figure in prog circles, and this was literally the prodigal son coming home. I was shitting my pants.

Finally, as if that wasn't enough, after Neal's solo set, he appears for the encore with Roine Stolt in tow, which was cool but not too surprising, since his band The Flower Kings were playing on Sunday night. They launched into their former band Transatlantic's "We All Need Some Light", but when it came time for the drums to enter, the man that appeared behind the kit was prog-metal kingpin Mike Portnoy, he of Dream Theater, and of course the drummer in Transatlantic. Not only did they play the aforementioned ballad, but then they launched into their frigging all time classic epic to end all epics, "Stranger in your Soul". It was 25 minutes of progtastic ecstasy, truly one of the 2 or 3 greatest musical experiences of my life.

I don't want to be too disgustingly cheesy here, but I'll just end by saying that the music by great artists like these has the power to change lives, or at the least make your life better. I will never understand the people my age who say things like "oh yeah, I really used to be into music, or this band or that genre", as if one of the natural byproducts of growing older is losing a passion for music. This is beyond sad to me.

I can safely say there will NEVER be a time when music is not a significant part of my life, whether or not I'm still able to play. I hope you'll do the same.

Peace, Love and Riffs,

Rick
Robot Lords of Tokyo

"It’s all part of my Rock and Roll fantasy...".

Thursday, August 07, 2008

Pretty crazy day yesterday folks. I trekked up north to Cleveland for the Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp, which is "touring" multiple cities this summer. The gist is that the camp follows the King's X/Extreme tour around the U.S., with the campers and Rock Star Counselors opening the show.

This was my second camp and totally worth it once again. Some of the highlights included:

There were lots of other incredible moments but I digress. As a final note, Extreme were amazing live. That was my first time seeing them and I walked out and bought their new CD from the merch table. Nuno kicks ass.

Ok, Robot Lords update coming soon. I'm too happy coming off the fantasy camp to get into the topic of artists who won't return emails.....

Stay Hungry,

Rick
Robot Lords

Robot Lords EMBRACE the Metal!

Monday, June 30, 2008

Man these blog titles are getting worse and worse....

Anyway, greetings from Robot land, where its 9 down and 1 to go. Marc from This Fire's Embrace came in to the Sonic Lounge yesterday and really exceeded my expectations for his guitar solo on the track "Comes Eternal Night". His solo combined elements of metal, blues, and even a sprinkling of jazz. At one point he dropped some old school Vivian Campbell-Holy Diver era shit in there, which obviously works for me! I'm definitely a fan of Marc's now, and recommend you check out TFE's Myspace profile. We'll be completing the mixing process over the next few days. With mastering and production, August is a real possibility for a release date. Stay tuned.

My CD recommendation for the month: I've got two this time, but one is a no-brainer. If you are at all into heavy music you already have the new Opeth. Quite simply it's amazing. A little further underground is Grand Magus, a Swedish powerhouse who just released "Iron Will". If you like your metal heavy, swingin', and rifftastic, with vocals bellowed by a Viking, pick it up.

Peace,

Robot Rick

ROBOT LORDS get Throttled;.....and mixing is almost complete!

Sunday, June 01, 2008

Greetings from the Sonic Lounge, fellow Riff Worshippers.

Some serious work has gone down at our bud Joe Viers' studio over the last week or so. In an unprecedented burst of activity and progress, I can actually see the finish line just over the next hill. The summary:

Out latest six-string special guest was Terry Adams, a local-Columbus guy with a long resume filled with metallic madness, and a good friend. Terry and his son came by ready to rock on "Princess (or Process!) of Hollywood", and that he did. Joe later commented that his solo has a really cool Kerry King vibe, coupled with some great Satriani-styled whammy work. Perfect.

Vocals were completed last week as well, including our cover of Kiss' "Larger than Life", which has managed to exceed my expectations. We've obviously heavied it up a bit, while retaining the core structure of the song. Paul's delivery, particularly on the second verse, is some of his strongest I've heard in our 10 years. Plus Joe does plenty of Gene Bass Slides, which is nice.

And there you have it. We moved on to mixing and cranked through 8 tunes in about 2 days, with 2 more to go. Can't believe how good it's sounding. I go back and listen to my home demos now and just laugh laugh laugh. Just shows you how much benefit a bunch of highly talented guest can have on yer album!

Ok, going to go watch the new Glenn Hughes live DVD now. Man that dude can sing. I'll get to meet him at the Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp this July......maybe I can con him into playing some bass on the next Robot Lords......

Getting Tighter,

Robot Lords of Tokyo

May 18 Studio Update - Zaza on board!; Pollick destroys!

Sunday, May 18, 2008

I'm knocking on wood, but the finish line may be in sight for this record. We peeled off another lead vocal on the last of our 9 originals last week, leaving only the Kiss cover Larger Than Life for Paul to sing.

I also got an amazing solo back from Steve Pollick from Pennsylvania. If you ..have any appreciation for classic metal in the vein of the best of the NWOBHM (think dual leads and copious harmonies, over top of power riffs and operatic vocals) you need to check out the two CDs Steve recorded with Icarus Witch. He's moved on to progressive metallers Order of 9, providing even more room for his ripping style. Needless to say, the solo and harmony parts he put together for the Robots song "Deathwagon" will rip your head off, then proceed to beat you with it. Holy Shite.

Finally, instrumental guitar great (and recent subject of discussion on American Idol!!) Neil Zaza has agreed to grace the new Robots disc with his prodigious talent. Neil will be playing on a song called "Fear", which Paul and I consider our little King's X "tribute". Neil's the perfect guy to channel the combination of soul, melody and chops we are looking for. Can't wait to share it with everyone.

Ok, hopefully only a few more tracking updates before we start mixing this sucker.

Stay Down,

Robot Rick

ROBOT LORDS DEBUT AVAILABLE AGAIN!!

Sunday, May 04, 2008

Greetings Consumers,

I'm happy to report that our debut disc is available from CDBaby.com once again, sorry to anyone who'd gone there previously to find them sold out. I've ordered up another run, so head on over and grab a copy or three...hell that's what credit cards are for!

Happy headbanging,

Robot Rick

April 12 - Studio Update

Monday, April 21, 2008

Hey hey,

Another session done, and I continue to be amazed at how frigging cool all the people are that we have guesting on this CD. I mean just with the sheer number of musicians we are bringing in, you'd think we'd have run into at least one douche by now. But nope, no douches, just friendly, professional people happy to be jamming with like-minded folks.

Mr. Deflagration himself, Beau Van Bibber, was up first, and delivered his usual high intensity vocals guaranteed to turn your bowels to soup. He also had some cool ideas that improved the tracks he sang on. Go buy the new Deflagration album "A Call to Arms" if you know what's good for ya.

If that wasn't enough, Nate and Ryan from Snowblynd came in to help us out on Hammond Organ and Guitar respectively. Nate helped further emphasize a cool funky element on "Bring it On Down", one of my favorite songs. And Ryan definitely gets the award for "Most Prepared" in the Robot Lords pantheon of guests. He needed about one and a half takes of "Shakedown" to nail all of his parts, all of which fit perfectly with what we were looking for from him. He has a really cool style, that half rhythm/half lead thing that all the best blues rock players do. As always, I felt bad at the end of the session that I didn't have more for them all to do. Maybe the next album will be a double? Or not.

More news to come next week.

Stay Hungry,

Rick

Studio Update!, plus random thoughts on the Lords of Heavy Guitar

Saturday, April 05, 2008

Hey hey People,

Slow but steady is the order of the day for us lately. To be optimistic, the new Robot Lords disc is about 65% complete. We’re almost done with Paul’s vocals, with only two tracks and a few odds and ends to go. He’s been tearing it up lately, most recently on the songs "Princess of Hollywood" and "Fear" (our homage to the wonders of King’s X.) Next weekend we’ll knock out Beau’s paint-peeling vocals, then it’s down to finishing the solos, adding some organ, mixing/editing and mastering. Then we’ll see if anyone buys it.

Ok, since the news is kinda skimpy, here’s some useless info in a format I can’t get enough of: lists. I love any kind of rock list, not just the usual top albums, songs, bands, LP covers, etc. I’m talkin’ top 10 Swedish bass players, top 5 left handed drummers, who are the Big 3 of Michigan Thrash?, you know, shit like that. Anyway, for this one, something a little more typical: My Top Ten Hard Rock/Metal Guitarists. And since it’s my list, I’m going a step further and separating them into two lists, for soloing and rhythm playing. Yes, many of these guys are amazing at both, but I prefer to make the distinction because otherwise certain players are unfairly slighted (hello Tony Iommi).

So here goes:

Rick’s Top Five Hard Rock/Metal Lead Guitar Players:

  1. Michael Schenker - yes I know all the stories about being a drunk, paranoid, angry, unreliable mental case, but all I know is everything this guy plays is amazing to me - lyrical, passionate, on fire with chops and imagination. As an example of my obsession (ha ha), the guy has an instrumental guitar album with like 25 songs, each a minute and a half long, with nary a song or complete composition in sight, and I FUCKING CAN’T STOP LISTENING TO IT.
  2. Ritchie Blackmore - pretty similar rep to Schenker really, minus the drunk part. Very different player though, totally unpredictable spasms of stratocastic magic come pouring out at all angles. The entire "Perfect Strangers" album is a clinic in spontaneous genius.
  3. Brad Gillis - I’ve long been a Night Ranger apologist, but anyone who can’t stomach their pop side can go directly to Ozzy’s "Speak of the Devil" and hear the one true King of the Tremelo Bar.
  4. Paul Gilbert - by far my favorite of all the shredders who emerged in the 80’s, Paul is differentiated by a strong ear for melodic hooks and interesting rhythms, all of which are only enhanced by his blinding chops.
  5. John Petrucci - obviously has the technique stuff down, but can be just as effective channeling Gilmour or going simple and acoustic on "The Silent Man".
  6. Honorable mention: Yngwie Malmsteen, Eddie Van Halen, Ted Nugent, Warren Haynes, Michael Amott, Michael Romeo, Jake E. Lee, Nuno Bettencourt, Alan Morse

Top 5 Hard Rock/Metal Rhythm Guitar Players:

  1. Tony Iommi - duh. For a non-obvious reference, check out "Psychophobia" off of Cross Purposes. The twelve of us who bought the record all agree it’s vintage Iommi.
  2. Bruce Franklin - one half of Trouble’s deadly duo, this man has without a doubt the greatest live guitar tone I’ve ever heard. The shit has teeth.
  3. Michael Amott - equally adept at death/thrash rifferama with Arch Enemy, or the groovy stoner doom of Spiritual Beggars.
  4. Ty Tabor - imho, this guys is singularly responsible for the King’s X sound established on those first three records (the proof is in his demos). Those herky-jerky down tuned rhythms are all Ty and completely original: see "Lost in Germany".
  5. Kirk Windstein/Pepper Keenan - inseparable from my perspective, these guys put on rhythm guitar clinics on all three Down albums, loose but in the pocket, weaving in and out of each other like the heavy metal Keef and Ronnie: see "On March the Saints".
  6. Honorable mention: Dimebag Darrell, EVH, Hetfield

NEWS FLASH: Rob Johnson is really good at guitar!

Saturday March 1, 2008

Figured I'd go with the blindingly obvious for a title this week. Anyone who's heard Rob play knows he's an incredible talent and world-class shredder. Paul and I were blown away not only that he agreed to play on the record, but also by his humility and desire to make sure he approached the song with the spirit we intended.

Rob played on two tunes last weekend, "Shadows and Blood" and "Burn the Sky". Of course we got some expertly executed sweep picking, string skipping licks, and tremelo picking runs from Rob. But as a bonus, he broke out the wah pedal and laid down some tasty blues licks and melodic phrasing. Fans of Rob's awesome progressive playing on the Magnitude 9 albums might be surprised to hear him playing in this context.

Ok, enough with the gushing praise, time to look ahead....

Vocals should be completely done by end of March, and with any luck so will the solos. VERY excited about some email exchanges I've had with two awesome players (both from Pennsylvania coincidentally) who should be cutting solos this month. Also psyched about having some REAL Hammond Organ on our record courtesy of Mr. Nathan Hollmann of Snowblynd. Comments on those sessions will be posted after they take place.

In closing, go seek out some Magnitude 9 records, particularly Decoding the Soul, which is probably my favorite. Reality in Focus is also good, with a great cover of Maiden's "Flight of Icarus".

Random Rambling: currently digging Martin Popoff's "Ye Olde Metal" books on classic proto-metal bands no one talks about; Kingdom of Sorrow's debut is solid with plenty of crushing Kirk Windstein riffs; MAJOR disappointment to hear that Byzantine have called it quits - although it's easy to understand how little financial reward exists for metal bands. O.J. supposedly received a whopping $39 royalty check for "Serpents". Still, the new record is out and the playing is incredibly tight. But "...Serpents" is still my favorite, and sits comfortably in my top 100 metal albums of all time.

Until next time,

Rick
Robot Lords of Tokyo

RLOT Volume 2 Studio Update, and the best records of 2007!

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Hey Friends,

It's been way to friggin' long since we've had anything to say hear in Robot World, but I'm happy to say the ball is officially rolling again, things are falling into place, and in general there is much rocking and rolling being done.

The Highlights: Paul has completed vocals for 3 songs, and he's really bringing the good stuff. There's a track called "The Mergatroid" that's some of the best stuff he's ever done. We hope to knock out at least 2 more by the end of this week.

On the six string front, our good buddy and Robot Regular Beau VanBibbler has completed the basic rhythm tracks for the entire record, including one marathon 10 hour session yesterday. Paul and I had a great time road tripping up to Beau's place last weekend, which in addition to RLOT tracking, also consisted of a three hour 80's power ballad medley in which We Three Idiots performed favorites from Warrant, Slaughter, Motley, Kiss, Guns & Roses, and a particularly moving version of Journey's Don't Stop Believin', with Beau on the bass keys and Paul on the high ones (we suck at piano). I digress.

The true King of Beers himself, Steve Theado of American Dog, came down to Joe's beautiful new Sonic Lounge studio and ripped shit up on Friday. Steve played lead on three songs, two originals and our cover of Kiss' "Larger Than Life". Tone just drips from this guy's fingers, and his slide playing on "Bring It On Down" totally took that tune to a new level. Stay tuned for more updates next week, as we've got more guests lined up.

Finally, I thought I'd post my thoughts on the Top 10 Albums of 2007, for anyone who gives a hoot. And if you do read this, let me know what you think I missed, I'm always looking to pick up good music. Without further ado:

10. American Dog - "Hard" - sure I'm biased, but this is the real deal.
9. Alterbridge - "Blackbird" - good songs are good songs; listen to it before you start with the Creed comments.
8. Maylene & the Sons of Disaster - "II" - love the attitude, songs, production.
7. Ian Hunter - "Shrunken Heads" - my left field choice of the year. Never liked Mott the Hoople but the guy puts on a songwriting clinic here.
6. Arch Enemy - "Rise of the Tyrant" - not as good as Doomsday but M. Amott and Erlandsson are two of my all time faves on their respective instruments.
5. Megadeth - "United Abominations" - slow to catch on to this one, then I couldn't stop listening to it. Lars should beg him to come back.
4. Clutch - "From Beale Street to Oblivion" - ridiculously grooving; last three records are career defining.
3. Dream Theater - "Systematic Chaos" - somehow they keep getting bigger...seeing this record performed live sealed the deal for me.
2. Symphony X - "Paradise Lost" - shocked me by living up to my sky high expectations, they deserve to be stars. Russell is the best prog/power/trad singer out there right now. Any other year this is my 1...
1. Down - "III Over the Under" - ....but it's not any other year, it's the year Down came back and delivered an all time classic album that transcends genres or "scenes". Their previously stated desire to make music on par with Zeppelin and Sabbath is suddenly legitimized on tracks like "3 Suns and 1 Star", "On March the Saints", and most pointedly, "Nothing in Return".

New review from Bob Nalbandian at HardRadio.com!

Saturday, November 10, 2007

The Robot Lords are a very cool Ohio-based trio. This self-titled and self-released CD features 4 original hard-driving rock anthems, two 45-second guitar instrumentals and three well-crafted cover-tunes which include a great rendition of UFO's "Mother Mary," Motley Crue's "Knock 'Em Dead Kid" and Motorhead's "Iron Fist." Vocalist Paul Jones has an amazingly powerful metal voice (although he does tend to over-do the cookie-monster thing on the Motorhead and Crue covers). The musicianship, which features guitarist Brad Stemple and drummer Rick Ritzler along with session bassist/producer Joe Viers and session guitarist Steve Theado (who adds a scorching lead on the opening track "Belly Full Of Greed"), is top-notch and the songs are a powerful blend of classic power-metal and modern hard rock. Songs like "Belly Full of Greed" and "Off to War" proves that this band is more than capable of writing great original material, but quite honestly the tracks "Numb" and "Sweet Vengeance" lack in the originality department leaning too much toward that Alice In Chains/Godsmack sound. Nonetheless, a solid debut performance definitely worth checking out. Hopefully on their follow-up CD we'll see more songwriting from the Robot Lords.

----- Bob Nalbandian / HardRadio.com

Studio Update - Bring on the SOLOS.....plus the DOWN road trip!

Sunday, November 04, 2007

Hey Folks,

If you are reading this you obviously have some level of interest in our musical escapades, so if I haven't mentioned it before, THANKS! As we move into November, I'd say we've moved past the halfway point on album 2: Beau's rhythm tracks are nearing completion, and we are beginning to schedule some good friends to come in and rip the shit out of some solos. In between those sessions Paul will start vocalizing in December as well. In my dreams we finish this thing in January.....but all those holidays may mess with my merry metal schedule.

Speaking of "dreams", is there any better example of a dream lineup than Keenan, Windstein, Brown, Bower and Anselmo? DOWN have apparently done the impossible and topped their debut record with their latest III: Over the Under. If you don't own it, you quite simply must purchase immediately. It's a perfect record. Still, you'd be forgiven if you were skeptical about whether their live show would match the record. My last time seeing DOWN on the Ozzfest was pretty sad: Phil disinterested, incoherent, arguing with bandmates on stage, etc. However, all those memories were OBLITERATED by the power, passion, and gargantuan display of GROOVE these guys displayed in Cincinnati a few weeks ago.

Paul, Beau and I all made the trek down to Bogarts and were immediately impressed by the turnout - DOWN fans are a devoted bunch, considering the sporadic release of albums. The band was on fire from the first note - Kirk and Pepper riffing like madmen, Rex and JB locked in like Geezer and Ward (or Bonham and JPJ if you prefer). But I gotta tell you, the MVP, the Comeback of the Year, the Man of the Hour, whatever the hell you want to call it, Phillip Anselmo was an unbelievable force of nature. Beyond intense, SINGING his ass off, covering ALL the lyrics, meaning the words, owning his responsibility. I've seen the guy live at least 10 times, and this was the pinnacle by a country mile. I won't pretend to know the guy or how he thinks, but it appears he's found a reason to give a shit again.

So anyway, huge friggin' props to the DOWN guys on an all-time classic album, and a world class display of live heavy metal prowess.

Rick
Robot Lifers of Tokyo

ROBOTS on the Radio!!

Sunday, September 02, 2007

Hola Metal Amigos,

Following a growing list of accomplishments that have exceeded our modest expectations, the Robot Lords have invaded North America's airwaves! Thanks to the excellent people at Heavy Hitter Promotions, our debut CD is receiving airplay in over 40 markets in the U.S. and Canada, including MusicChoice cable and XM Satellite.

We'd like to personally thank all the very cool metal DJs who have taken a chance and chosen to push an unsigned band that they dig (Carl Sundberg, Jon Freeman, Razor Ray, many more)! Looking forward to kicking your asses with Volume 2!

Ok, off to see Rush tonight.

"This is the Spirit of Radio....."

RLOT

Robots and SLEAZE......(Classic Rock style)

Monday, August 27, 2007

Evening Folks......so anyway Paul and I have this general rule about not taking ourselves too seriously, keep things in perspective, keep it real, all the usual cliches. But even we were pretty impressed with our little project when we opened the pages of the August issue of Classic Rock Magazine to see the snarling mugs of our Robot Lords "logo/band photo" staring up at us in glorious full color! Classic Rock is, in our humble opinion, the best rock mag in the U.K., and possibly the world. (On sale now at a Barnes and Noble near you, shameless plug....) So when Ken "Sleazegrinder" McIntyre contacted us about doing an "Introducing" feature, we were all over it.

So there you have it. I'll spare you the tedium of recounting every detail of the article, but suffice to say that, like all great rock journalists, Sleazegrinder succeeded in making us sound much cooler than we are. Mission accomplished!

Watch the skies,
Robot Lords

NEW REVIEW from Treats From the Underground

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Hey Brothers and Sisters - we're blushing over this review we received from the cool people at Treats From the Underground, a cool metal webzine:

ROBOT LORDS OF TOKYO - SELF TITLED
(9 track CD) Self Released

First off, THESE GUYS KICK ASS! I just wanted to get that out of the way! This Ohio based band comes out kicking with some very cool Southern Rock/Metal styled music, but they add in lots of other stuff to add more flair to their sound. There are some elements of Stoner Rock, Blues, Heavy Metal & even a little Doom too! I dig the way the whole bands sound has that very cool whiskey soaked Metal sound all through out! The vocals are a blend of Stoner, Blues, Southern Metal as well. If you were to blend the great bands PROBOT, MAYLENE & THE SONS OF DISASTER, NASHVILLE PUSSY, CROWBAR, FIREBALL MINISTRY & MOTORHEAD together, you'd come up with a slight idea of what these guys sound like!

Robot Lords VOLUME 2 underway - Drum tracks done!

Thursday, August 09, 2007

Evening Raw Dogs and Rivetheads,

Can't believe I'm done - but yes, the drum tracks for the new Robot Lords of Tokyo CD were completed last weekend. Here's something nobody says: This shit sounds killer! Joe Viers is of course on board engineering and playing bass, and he's topped himself with the drum sounds. In particular, the Kiss cover ("Larger Than Life") is just stupid-big sounding. We're talkin' When the Levee Breaks-big.

So if yer interested enough in the RLOT project to be reading this, here's the gory details: 10 songs total, 9 new originals plus the Kiss cover. Very cool cross section of heavy groovin' shit, various tempos and grooves, but as always the Riff is king. The influences I'm hearing are still the classics, plus my personal cult faves (Sabbath, Trouble, King's X, Motorhead, COC, Spiritual Beggars, Clutch, etc.). And most important: I got that big fuckin' cowbell on two, count em 2 songs!!

I'll save more details on the guests we're lining up for some future blog posts.

Keep it heavy, and shout at the devil.

Robot Lords of Tokyo

North Americas premier metal mag weighs in on Robot Lords debut!

Monday, July 16, 2007

From Brave Words and Bloody Knuckles Issue 104:

"Striking artwork courtesy of BWBK's own Felix LaFlamme adorns the cover of this riveting CD. Despite the band name, this trio is from Columbus, Ohio, not Tokyo, Japan. In the spirit of Dave Grohl's Probot, a core unit collaborates with guest stars, resulting in a stylistically diverse, yet ultra-cool collection of tunes. American Dog guitarist Steve Theado plays lead on "Belly Full of Greed". Acclaimed producer/engineer/bassist Joe Viers thumps the four-string throughout. Vocals are split between frontman Paul Jones and Deflagration's Beau VanBibber. In addition to six glorious originals, Robot Lords of Tokyo treat listeners to three energetic covers from Motley Crue, Motorhead and UFO. Well worth looking into."

8/10

Reviewer: Aaron Small

NEW MUSIC

Saturday, June 23, 2007

Greetings metal heads! Here's what's happening in the R.L.O.T. camp. Rick and I have been hard at work on the material for the new CD. We plan on hitting the studio the first week of August. We have the pleasure of having Beau from DEFLAGRATION on board to help with the guitar work along with multiple guest soloists. This will be in my opinion the best shit Rick and I have produced! Stay tuned bitches!

paul