When one thinks of fun loving Metal bands, one thinks of bands like DARKEST HOUR - they don't take themselves too seriously, know how to have a good time and create some great Metal. After spending their Summer on the Sounds Of The Underground and sharing a bus with AMON AMARTH, DARKEST HOUR set off on a tour with UNEARTH in support of their newest album, "Deliver Us".

First of all, tell us a little bit about the new album, "Deliver Us", which came out this Summer.

"Hey, it came out this Summer! It's awesome; we're happy about it and we're just going to keep touring on it for a little while and we're psyched on it, man. We're really, really happy with the songs and shit."

What was it like working with the zombie Devin Townsend? Now, I interviewed GWAR and they said they killed him after working on "Beyond Hell", so what was it like working with the resurrected, brain eating Devin Townsend?

"He's smarter that never, he's even more challenging - he's awesome, man. He was awesome with us, he made us, like... I dunno, he just made us play our instruments better and really took our band to the next level, you know, he was amazing to work with - the guy's a genius."

Alright, now I understand you guys were recording up in Vancouver, B.C. when HEAVEN AND HELL played... were you at the show?

"No."

I even sent you a message telling you to come because I was going to be there, driving from Portland, and you didn't come. That breaks my heart, Ryan!

"I couldn't go. I was recording a record at the time."

That's not an excuse! (laughs) Everybody knows you're supposed to ditch out from work!

"Yeah, I know. We were too busy; we didn't get a chance to make it."

Tisk, tisk, tisk!

"Was it good?"

It was great. The sound during MEGADETH absolutely sucked, but that's not the band's fault.

"Yeah."

But it was freakin' amazing. Alright, tell us a bit about the cover art for the album.

"John Baizley drew it; he's in a band called BARONESS. He is very talented, as you can probably see. We were very excited about the artwork; the man is very colorful. We didn't want an all black or digital kind of cover - we wanted serious artwork, so he delivered the goods for 'Deliver Us', I guess."

What was your experience like on the Sounds of the Underground tour?

"It was awesome! We enjoyed every minute of it, man - it was an incredible adventure. Lots of cool people, lots of good bands - it was cool, man."

What was it like sharing a bus with AMON AMARTH?

(laughs) "Those guys are very Swedish. (laughs) They're really cool; they can drink like fish, they're insane. I love 'em to death."

Alright, have you already made your travel plans to Germany next year?

"No." (laughs)

You're going to miss out on your favorite band's reunion, you're going to miss out on CARCASS?

"No, no, no... that's the thing - I know about it. I do. I just... I hope we're not touring at the time. I don't know what's going on yet. I have to figure that out. It's a big one, though."

Yeah, I just hope they play Bloodstock, 'cause that's the one I'm planning on going to.

"I'm pretty sure they're going to do a U.S. tour."

It'd be nice...

"I think they're going to do one. I'll somehow be a part of that."

Just beg on your knees - "come on, I'll be the merch guy - it doesn't matter!" (laughs)

"Yeah, anything. 'I'll change the tire!' It doesn't matter."

Okay... I've noticed one thing - the stereotype of drummers is that they're not charismatic at all, they're the boring members of the band, yet you break this stereotype...

"I do?"

Could you inform us of how you've done this?

"I didn't know I did that. (pause) That's a boring answer, isn't it?"

Yeah, it is. (laughs)

"I don't know - I just like to play drums a lot. I guess I have an outgoing personality and it reflects when I play, I guess. I don't know. I like to do different things, I like to keep myself occupied and busy or I'll get bored... run around the drum set or stand on top of it or... I don't know, something."

Speaking of doing crazy thing while playing, on average, how many shows per tour do you play naked?

"On this one, none. (laughs) It's all spur of the moment; it depends on when it happens. I don't know - I don't really plan that thing out. It's really hot, usually, I just feel like the crowd's boring - they need like a pick-me-up."

I'm never going to forget that naked stage dive you did at the old Meow Meow off the speaker cab... no matter how hard I try.

"Hey, people caught me, dude."

Yeah, that was the amazing part! (laughs)

"That was awesome! I'm glad they did. I was nervous. (pause) that was a long time ago."

Yeah, I think that was on the tour you did with GOD FORBID and ATREYU.

"That was 2002. Five years ago... wow. How 'bout that?"

What are some of the weirder tour stories you've had in the past?

"Weirder tour stories... it's kind of strange, 'cause lately there hasn't been much time for much happenings, it's all... dudes are married now and stuff, so it's a lot of just relaxing after the shows these days. I'm trying to think of weird... I mean, there's always one or two weird things that happen, we just don't remember them 'cause you're either really wasted... (laughs) I'll have to come back to that one. weird tour stories..."

Based on the last interview I did with you where I asked who would win in a fight, DARKEST HOUR or Batman, I have a new question, going back to the Reed College show - who would win in a fight, DARKEST HOUR or Ms. Pacman?

"Whoa... Ms. Pacman."

Why?

"Because she's awesome - the greatest arcade game alive. I don't play video games or anything like that, but that's one game I'll always play - if I see one, I'll play it. The greatest game on the planet. She's badass."

How much do you have left on your contract with Victory Records?

"We only have one record left. We're very excited about that." (laughs)

That could be interpreted in many ways; looking for a new label home after that?

"Yeah - time to move on."

I noticed awhile ago, they sent me this catalog in the mail, they were advertising DARKEST HOUR patches, which were never made, so I was a little disappointed by that.

"Yeah."

What's the worst venue you've ever played?

"Worst venue we've ever played? Worst venue ever... well, that depends on what you mean by that; what do mean? Security guard bad? Sound bad?"

Just the whole thing being bad, like you'd wish the place would burn down after the show.

"Jesus... I don't think we've ever had a situation where we'd want a place to burn down. (laughs) That's a weird question. There's been a lot of strange venues in different aspects, but we've never had anything so bad where we wanted it to die... that I can recall. Now we've had... worst show ever, everybody just sucked.... actually, southern California. Like any club in L.A. - I don't want those places to burn down, but those people are fucking assholes. Same with New York City - those people are assholes."

Watch out for Rock N Roll Pizza.

"Yeah?"

You've already played there, so you should know.

"Rock N Roll Pizza..."

It's the venue you played on the tour with HIMSA.

"Oh yeah... oh yeah!"

Yeah, bands tend to have a hard time with that place and there's a reason most promoters won't work with them much anymore.

"Yeah, I can see why. We've never been here before. What's the Hawthorne like?"

The Hawthorne Theatre's a pretty good venue, actually. It's definitely one of our better venues. Used to be a bar venue a few years ago; I liked the layout of the bar better, but as a venue - good sound, security guards are cool, good place to play.

"That's cool."

Holds about six hundred, I think.

"Cool."

Okay, I was watching your DVD the other day and I heard that story about y'all getting arrested and how you and John had to spend more time in jail than everybody else, but you didn't get to give your side of the story on the DVD.

"I didn't? Oh, wow... you wanna know about jail?"

Yeah.

"It's a scary place; I didn't like it. When the inmates came back from work release, me and John were sitting on a bench and they made us sit on the floor. (laughs) There was a bathroom in the cell with us, I was trying to take a piss and they kept yelling at me, saying I was gunshy, which is pretty awesome. That was interesting. You can't smoke in jail, but they had snuck cigarettes up their asses, so they were pulling handmade cigarettes out of their buttholes, smoking it like this, so the smoke wouldn't go anywhere and then they gave us nicknames, too. (laughs) Weird ones, too. They called one of us Slim Shady and someone else, they called like, Speedy or something... and they threatened not to feed us. (laughs) It was weird."

But that's prison food, so wouldn't threatening not to feed you be like a reward?

"I guess so. I didn't think it was half bad. All food groups were represented; it was a basic meal. Not bad, but I never want to go back to jail... ever. Law abiding citizen."

Yes, that's what we'll tell people. (laughs)

"It's true! It's true!"

What is your favorite drummer joke?

"Drummer joke? I think they're all funny. I like the ones where we're especially lazy or 'what do you call a drummer without a girlfriend? Homeless.' That's a good one."

I always liked "how do you get a drummer off your doorstep?"

"How's that?"

Pay for the pizza.

"There you go. That's nice, that's a good one."

Man, you're going to kill me now, aren't you?

"No way. I'm okay with it!"

Now, he's saying that while the tape recorder's running, but as soon as I press stop, I'm gonna get shanked.

"I'm going to jump across the table, then maybe..."

Is there anything else you'd like to add, sir?

"Thanks for the interview; sorry I wasn't more informative or story telling-ish. Next time, maybe. We just had a long drive from Sacramento, so we're all a little out of it."

Understandable - I've done that one myself.

"It's a big one. It's a big one. But, yeah, so thanks for the interview, man - it's always fun doing. Appreciate it." [FIN]