The blog Metal Sucks is a big reference for us. Their liberty of tone knows no bound,their analyses are deep and smart, and their sense of humor is caustic. To be honest, we completely identify ourselves in their alternative approach. Metal Sucks is as disturbing as it is unifying. And to top it all, these guys regularly come up with genius ideas to keep their readers spellbound. One of their last strokes of genius was a contest involving the band Nevermore.

A few months ago, the instrumental version of the eponymous song from The Obsidian Conspiracy, Nevermore’s new album, leaked on YouTube. So the Metal Sucks guys thought: “What about a contest ?” They contacted the band with their idea: the readers would be invited to submit their own version of the song, with their own lyrics and vocal lines. The contestants would have to send a video with the instrumental track and their vocal recording. The winner would then be invited to perform their version of the song on stage with the band.

The contest was a success, and the winner was announced on May 7th. His name his Ben Robson, and his incredibly entertaining body language has been acclaimed by the readers. Don’t get deceived by his deliciously redneck looks (the Pittsburgh Penguins sweatshirt is a blast), ‘cause Ben is a master. Not only is his vocal performance impressive, but his vocal lines are also particularly inspired.
Here’s his video:

We wanted to know more about the Ben phenomenon and contacted him for a few questions.

Is this your first interview?

Yes.

How do you feel about that?

It feels kind of strange. I guess I’m excited about it (laughs).

Let’s talk about the Metal Sucks contest. What were your thoughts when you first saw the contest? Did you immediately want to participate?

When they first announced the contest, it was only open to people over 21 years of age and I was only 19 so I was a bit disappointed about that because I thought it would have been really fun to enter. Then two weeks later they announced that they were going to change it so that anyone over 18 could enter. So as soon as I saw that, I thought to myself “wow, I should really enter” because I expected it to be a lot of fun and I didn’t really expect to win. I had already written some lyrics in my spare time and I recorded it as well as the video in just a couple of hours one night. Then I submitted it the next day and here I am (laughs).

That seems like a very short time to write your lyrics in…

Well I didn’t write them in one day. I had them written a little bit beforehand. Before I actually entered the contest, I was already listening to the song because they had versions on YouTube of people doing it. That’s when I came up with what would sound good in my mind. I already knew what I was going to sing but I didn’t even know that I was going to take part the contest yet. So when they changed the rules of the contest to over 18s only, luckily, I already had something written down.

Were you a Nevermore fan?

Yes, I am a big fan of Nevermore.

« La musique de Nevermore est très sombre et sérieuse, et le texte que j’ai écrit est aussi sombre et sérieux.[…] Je me suis dit que vu que la chanson était tellement sombre, sérieuse et presque déprimante, il fallait que je saute un peu et que je m’amuse dans la vidéo. »

Honestly, I only did it for fun because I didn’t expect to win. I had no idea that I was going to win. More than anything, I just thought that it would be a fun experience. I thought it would be funny to put a goofy video up on YouTube and just have some fun with it. However, it did end up giving me a lot more exposure than before. A lot of people have started subscribing to me on YouTube, which is really cool. But I didn’t actually set out to gain exposure through this, it just kind of happened by accident and I am really happy about it.

(laughs) Well Nevermore’s music is very dark and serious and the lyrics that I wrote were also very dark and serious, so I kept in line with that theme. When they mentioned that a video element could be added to it, I decided that I wanted mine to stand out from the others since I had no idea how many people had entered the contest. I figured that since the song itself was so dark, serious and even depressing, I thought that maybe if I jumped around a little and had some fun on the video, I could make up for it a bit. I thought it was fun and a lot of people thought that it was really funny, which is cool. But no, I am not always like that (laughs). I always like to have fun with my music but I’m not always quite so exuberant.

Do you think that you will act like that on stage with Nevermore?

A couple of people that I know have suggested that I do the exact same thing.

Will you bring the t-shirt on stage?

Oh yeah. I will be wearing my hockey jersey.

Your singing style is actually really close to Warrel Dane’s. Did you adapt your voice to sound closer to his vocal style?

I have always liked singer Nevermore songs since when This Godless Endeavour came out about five years ago. I got that album as soon as it came out although I had never listened to them before that so I didn’t know what to expect. I really enjoyed Warrel’s vocal style and I thought it sounded quite unique. Singing has always been a hobby of mine, so I had a habit of singing along to the songs a lot of the time. That’s how I found a way to sing like he sings. So I guess that by default I managed to sing in the same style as he did. I tried not to imitate him completely because I wanted to create my own edge to it without sounding exactly like Warrel when I made the video. I was so used to singing songs like “This Godless Endeavour” and “Born” that I guess it just came as an accident that my vocals sounded a lot like his. On the songs that I have written for myself, I don’t sing quite the same way that I did in the video.

You won the opportunity to play with the band on stage, to play your version of the song. How do you feel about that?

I am so excited. When I heard that I had won, as I received an email from Metal Sucks, I couldn’t believe it and I thought that it was a joke. I didn’t even think that I would make the top 5. I honestly had no clue that I was going to win. I am extremely excited because, as I mentioned before, I am a big fan of Nevermore and I have been for about five years now. Also, they are an incredible band to watch live. Warrel Dane is an incredible singer and although I have never met Jeff Loomis, he seems like a pretty awesome guy from all of the interviews that I have watched. It will be an honour just to meet them let alone have the opportunity to go on stage with them. I am so honoured and happy to get this opportunity.

Last week in an interview with Warrel Dane, he told us that you will perform your version of the song at the beginning of the set and that at the end of the set you will perform their version of the song with them. Were you aware of this?

No I was not aware. Wow.

So have you heard the final version of the song?

Yeah, I’ve heard the final version of the song. I like it. I’ve listened to the whole album because it leaked and some people posted it up on YouTube. I really liked the whole thing. When I first heard the original version of the song, I was a bit surprised although I really did like it. Since I had been listening to everybody’s entries before actually hearing the real version, I had heard about 40 people doing versions of it, so I had a hard time accepting that this was the actual song. But I really enjoy his final version of the song and I like the whole album.

(laughs) Well I have a soft spot in my heart for my version because I wrote it but I think that I prefer Warrel’s version better than mine. Although as a result, every time that I hear the song I will probably think of my version, simply because I have heard it so many more times! (laughs)

According to your MySpace you have a musical project. Could you tell us a bit about it?

It’s called The Robot Zombie Army. It’s a name that I came up with as a joke four years or so ago, before I decided that I was actually going to start making music. I play all of the instruments, which include guitar, vocals and occasionally saxophone. I also program the drums and bass because I don’t have a drummer and for the moment I don’t have enough recording equipment to record bass very well. It’s sort of a bedroom project because my whole studio is just my amps, a couple of microphones and my computer, all in my bedroom. I write and record whatever music comes to my mind at the time. It’s more rock than anything else. I am very influenced by Devin Townsend and he is probably my biggest inspiration as far as song writing and production goes. I like to write mostly emotional and laid back music rather than straight up metal. I try to incorporate all kinds of elements into it as much as I can.

« J’ai réfléchi au projet de prendre de musiciens et faire découvrir ma musique, mais mon attention est sur mes études. Peut être que plus tard, je pourrais rassembler des musiciens et essayer de faire quelque chose de plus sérieux avec mes compositions. Pour le moment, je n’ai ni le temps ni l’argent. »

I know a few people who have mentioned to me that they would be willing to help me out. However, right now I am focussing on my education. I am majoring in music education because I would like to be a music teacher. I have considered getting a group together and getting my music known but right now my focus lies on my education. Perhaps some time in the future, I might be able to get together with some other musicians and try to do something more serious with my music project. For right now, I just don’t have the time or money.

According to the shirt you are wearing in the video, are you really a Pittsburgh Penguins fan?

Yeah. I am a Pittsburgh Penguins fan. I am from Pittsburgh and I have been a Penguin fan for quite a while now. Obviously last year it was very exciting because we made it to the finals for two years in a row. We won last year but we didn’t do quite so well this year so I was a bit disappointed. I’m certainly not ashamed to put myself out there in public as a Penguins fan because I support the team.

Interview made in 2010 may, by phoner by Metal’O Phil and Spaceman.

Ben Robson website : http://www.myspace.com/robotzombiearmy

This post is also available in: French