A founding member of seminal 1970s punk act The Dictators and New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) gladiatorial metal icons Manowar, guitarist/songwriter Ross ‘The Boss’ Friedman has been creating genre-defining, pulse-pounding, exceptionally in-your-face music for more than 45 years.
One might think after such a proudly prolific, truly badass and world-enveloping career as a recording and touring artist in one of the loudest and most energized and intense styles of music Friedman would perhaps ‘tone it down’ a little bit, slow down, and enjoy a more languid pace of life after turning 66 on Jan. 3.
Yeah, that’s not ever going to happen.
Evidence for the elemental role metal music plays in Friedman’s life, and the almost inhuman abundance of badassery and creative excellence left in his inexhaustible songwriting tank, comes in the form of the fourth album released under the Ross the Boss mantle – Born of Fire – which is set to come out March 6 on AFM Records
“The new songs are already being well received on this tour. We’ve been doing a couple of new songs in the set for now, and we’re working up a bunch more because we have to play them on a European tour in April because the record is coming out on March 6. Right now we are playing the title track, Denied by the Cross and Glory to the Slain and people are really responding, so we’re looking forward to playing even more of the new songs,” said Friedman from a recent tour stop in Colorado Springs, adding that he was encouraged by the success of his previous album By Blood Sworn, which came out in 2018, to keep the positive momentum going by releasing a new record in time for the peak 2020 touring season.
“Right after our last tour for By Blood Sworn, my agents said that if I really wanted to do a lot of touring in 2020, I was definitely going to have to have a new record, because that’s the reality of the music industry now, to go out on tour in support of something new. We all write all the time, but it’s still not the easiest thing to come up with brilliant riffs, music and songs all the time. But we managed to do it on this record. It is kind of an old school way of doing things. Back when I was in Manowar [1981-1988] we did an album and tour each year pretty much.”
The native of The Bronx, New York City, who has also been a part of many other musical projects over the years, including The Brain Surgeons, Wotan, Death Dealer, Shakin’ Street, The Hellacopters and Manitoba’s Wild Kingdom, said it was important to add more songs to the Ross The Boss band repertoire, and was also glad that his full touring band was able to participate in the recording process.
“We do want to wean ourselves more and more off the Manowar with our own stuff. And this band has now been together for more than two years. So, we are tighter as a unit, which carried over into the studio. We had [touring drummer] Steve Bolognese play on all the tracks and that made it feel so much more authentic to how we sound on stage. And since we’ve been playing together for a while, the sound of the band has evolved from the last record,” Friedman said.
“We didn’t go into the rehearsal room and hash out the arrangements like I did on By Blood Sworn. This time, we built our demos and we worked our arrangements into the demos and then we recorded the drums on those demos and started building the album from there. And I love the way it came out. The process was time efficient and very pleasing and enjoyable for us all. There was not a lot of fine tuning needed. I really had such an enjoyable process in making this record. And it’s good to change things up from time to time. I believe that a band that stays the same is moving backwards, you’re not moving forwards. This time we really changed things, not drastically. I think it’s definitely a step in a different direction – much harder, much much harder.”
Friedman gave significant kudos to lead vocalist Marc Lopes for his dynamic performances, which run the gamut from powerhouse thrash, to more melodic techniques and everything in between.
“A lot of people will think he sings excruciatingly on some of the songs, but it’s not like that on all the tracks, for example, Maiden of Shadows, Godkiller, Demon Holiday – there’s plenty of what you would call traditional hard rock singing. When people are like ‘oh my God, did you hear the opening lines on Denied by the Cross, it’s so brutal.’ Yeah, well it’s meant to be brutal. It’s a brutal song and we made a brutal video for it,” he said.
“It’s important to have a range of tempos and vibe to the songs on an album. Most of the bands I hear pretty much sound the same throughout every song. They don’t change it up a lot, and that’s why I often can’t listen to a full album. I go for songwriting; I go for hooks and hits, and that’s what I insisted Marc do, create metal hooks and hits. Those were his marching orders and he delivered. He has done a remarkable job on all the music on this record. In the days I was in Manowar [vocalist Eric Adams] didn’t write a lyric. He didn’t write melodies, he didn’t write anything, he was just spoon-fed everything. But I think that the singer in any band should be responsible for his lyrics; he’s the one who has got to sing it, he’s got to sell it to the listener.
“Plus, I really want this to be a whole band experience. I want the guys to be able to really show what they can do. My band is incredibly talented, and I try to step out of their way and let them be incredibly talented both on stage and on the album. I have never been a control freak – micromanaging doesn’t work for a creative venture. Am I going to tell Mike LePond how to play bass? No f***ing way! To me he is one of the best bass players on the planet, and he gets to play what he wants to play. When he helps arrange songs, I am not going to deny his ideas.”
Having a reputation as a reliable, consistent, ass-kicking live act is even more crucial as we enter the third decade of the 21st century as the live draw is now more pivotal to the financial success, stability and viability of an artist or a band. For Friedman, he is thrilled that Ross the Boss is a band that delivers each and every night with unbounded ferocity and musicality.
“There is no doubt about it, you have to be able to give it every night. And our reputation is not only immaculate, it’s impeccable. I would put this band in front of anybody, in front of any crowd, any place on the planet. We have never failed, and we are very, very good live; we are blowing people away. You can’t have a bad show these days, and we don’t. So many of the new bands aren’t getting it done on that front, so the old guard is bearing the brunt, and I am okay with that. I am from the old guard but my album and my sound is pretty fresh and new. So, I have both worlds covered.”
The spring European tour for Ross the Boss begins April 1 in Germany and sees the metal quartet also hit Norway, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and more. For more information on forthcoming tour dates, Born of Fire and more, visit https://www.ross-the-boss.com.
- Jim Barber is a veteran award-winning journalist and author based in Napanee, ON, who has been writing about music and musicians for 30 years. Besides his journalistic endeavours, he now works as a communications and marketing specialist. Contact him at jimbarberwritingservices@gmail.com.
