We recently caught up with John Williams of Necromancing The Stone for a chat. Get involved and see what we asked him below.
Necromancing the Stone and Jewel of the Vile, how long have you been sitting on that wordplay?
Justin and I decided on that band name 7 years ago. We really couldn’t think of anything. We had one name. I believe it was Bastard Blade. But then one night Justin was going through the TV guide and saw that Romancing the Stone was on. Then called me and said “Dude!”. That’s really how the name came about. Justin was just watching TV.
Will you continue to riff on Kathleen Turner/Michael Douglas films and what do you think of Who Maimed Roger Rabbit or The Gore of the Roses as future titles?
We are not dead set on Turner/Douglas movies. That was just one album. The fact that people are trying to link the songs to the movies is amuzing to me. It’s just the name. Jewel of the Vile, to me, has meaning. This is our
Jewel and the fans and us are the Vile. I must say those are some killer album titles!
Although the are titles tongue in cheek, you’re all very accomplished musicians – how did you come to band together against Lord Breakdownicus?
Going on three years ago, James came out to Justin’s house for a while and found the OLD NTS demo disc that we put out. It was just Justin, Me, and a drum machine. Justin told him that we wanted him to play guitar on it forever ago but he was too busy. After a listen he fell in love with it. Called Jeremy (who dug it) who called Ryan (who dug it) and it just fell into place. Everything came together so fast and worked out so well. As if it was meant to be. It was a bit of a surprise.
What (influences) went into the cauldron to cook the Jewel of the Vile?
It’s really all over the place. I can’t speak for everyone else. King Diamond, Mercyful Fate, Maiden, Dio, Iced Earth, Katatonia, Ghost….. It’s really all over the place. More of a Stew in the Cauldron.
Mainstream and metal seem to go hand in hand nowadays, and I admit to thinking that much of it is homogenized pop in spikes and bullet belts. Can you elaborate on your own disdain for modern metal?
You see the younger crowds now with the jean jacket with patches covering it (which I don’t have), old school high tops, bullet belts, long hair, and looked like they just came from huffing glue. And these kids are peppered around the metal community. Then you get them at a show together and listen to their conversations. Out of ten of them, eight will be bullshitting about classic metal and underground. The other two are quietly sitting there looking around wondering why they didn’t get THAT bullet belt or THAT pair of high tops.
But as far a modern metal goes, I have no hatred towards any of it. Some dislike. No matter how bad a band could sound to you, you are still going to hear classic influences. How anyone can say this or that is NEW and REFRESHING just puzzles me. It all came from somewhere. And that deserves at least a little respect.
But modern metal bands have the same freedom to play their music as we do. It’s not going to go away.
Can you give me the names of your favourite thrash albums from the 80’s and say why they’re worth checking out?
I was young in the 80’s. We also didn’t have the money to go buy music. There were a few that I can remember really drew me in. Most came from my sisters boyfriends because no one else in my house or my friends listened to it. Here’s a few.
Megadeth – Peace Sells
Grim Reaper – See you in hell
Metallica – Kill Em All, Master of Puppets
Metal Church – Metal Church
What does the future look like from where you are?
No prophet can see that one.
You can read our review of Necromancing The Stone here.
