Majesty

From New York comes a very interesting and talented band, Majesty. In fact, these guys have been around for a while and I'm ashamed to admit I just heard of them a few months ago. They are an amalgamation of many different styles and possess a striking originality that I wish a lot of other bands on the scene these days would take a hint from. If pinned down, I’d try to describe Majesty as a combination of early Rush, early Yes, demo-era Rising Force and a little bit of Watchtower thrown in for extra spice!!! Its, needless to say, an awesome sound, harking back to the good ol’ days of classic, progressive metal and a reason why I think they stand tall in the special issue! Majesty are: John Petrucci – guitar; John Myung – bass; Mike Portnoy – drums; Kevin Moore – keyboards. They are currently on the lookout for a new vocalist. I recently had the chance to talk with Mike Portnoy, and here's what I learned:

Ray Dorsey: What can you tell us about the early days of Majesty and how the band formed?

Mike Portnoy: Well, John, John and Kev all played together when they were in high school. Then John and John left to go to the Berklee College of Music in Boston, and that's where they met me. After playing up there for a year, the three of us left Boston and came back to Long Island. That's where we joined back up with Kev and brought in Chris Collins, our former vocalist.

RD: I understand you're still looking for a singer to replace Chris (who was on the 1986 demo).

MP: Yes, we split with Chris back in November of ’86. It was a mutual agreement. He wanted to leave and we wanted another singer. It's been very hard to find the right guy, to replace him. We've been very demanding of the dozens and dozens of people who have auditioned. We want to be absolutely sure, we want him to be on an extremely high musical level and also to fit into the chemistry of the four of us.

RD: Obviously, Majesty is a very unique band. How did you guys arrive at your present style? What kind of musical influences do you have and who do you like to listen to?

MP: I think behind our unique style is our variety of influences. We all listen to about anything and everything that is good and has high musical quality; a lot of metal, fusion, ‘70s progressive rock. We just like to be open-minded and diverse with our musical tastes. [You’ve got to like that attitude! – RD]

RD: What directions are you exploring lyrically? How do you feel about the way hardcore/metal lyrics have been engulfed by the Satan/anarchy themes of late?

MP: Right now, John Petrucci does almost all the lyric writing. He writes in a very poetic manner and likes to deal with human emotions and real life situations. His lyrics definitely take a lot of thought. As far as all the hardcore and metal bands singing about Satan and violence, who cares? If that's what they're into, nobody should tell them otherwise. I personally do not like lyrics like that, but they don't particularly bother me either. If you don't like it, don't listen to it.

RD: On a similar topic, over the last few years, the thrash scene has gotten huge with kids, consequently overlooking a lot of other styles of metal and music in general. Have you seen yourselves affected by this trend?

MP: No, because no matter how big thrash gets, there will still be people who will want to hear other things, too. I don't think the thrash scene affects us because anybody that is into our music is usually somebody with an open mind or a musician. The thing I hate is when these kids into hardcore and thrash put down other types of music. That drives me nuts! I mean, where are their roots?! What were they listening to before Kill ‘Em All came out? It seems like as soon as thrash took over, they forgot everything they ever listened to before then.

RD: Have you played on bills with any speed or thrash bands? How has the crowd at such a show reacted to you?

MP: No, we would never book ourselves onto a thrash show. Our music is very different and I think a lot of the people would not want to hear it for the reasons I just explained. Don't misunderstand, there are a lot of thrash fans and bands who are really into our music. Usually, these are the people who are open-minded and like to listen to or play music beyond the average band. We speak frequently to a lot of metal bands like Fates Warning, Watchtower and the Crumbsuckers because they really appreciate what we’re doing. We also respect them because they are really great bands.

RD: Has there been a problem in your area with violence at shows (due to stage diving, slamming, etc.) leading to injuries, equipment damage, clubs being afraid to book bands, police involvement, etc.?

MP: Well, there is a lot of all that, but it hasn't gotten to the point where the police have been involved. The clubs know what they're getting into when they book the bands, so they don't mind. Everybody just goes to have a good time. If you don't want to mosh or stage dive, you stay further away from the stage. I think it's great, I go every weekend. [Somehow, it just doesn't seem right to me that if I pay $10+ to see a band I really care about, I have to watch them from the back of the hall because I don't feel like taking a boot in the head. – RD]

RD: How much live work has Majesty done?

MP: Well, it's been a while since we played live, since we don't have a singer. During the summer of ’86, we were playing about three or four shows a week.

RD: Do you find that your unique style helps or hinders you in getting gigs?

MP: I don't think it's hurt us in any way, as far as I can see.

RD: Have you played with any major bands? What kind of reaction did you get?

MP: The only band of any importance we've played with was Talas. That was over a year ago. Actually, that was the last gig we played. It was great, the place was packed and the crowd really responded well. We definitely made a lot of new fans that night, but unfortunately haven't played out since.

RD: Have you gotten any label interest from your demo?

MP: We did not shop it around at all. We felt it was not a good enough representation of the band. That demo was only recorded on my 4-track porta-studio. We decided to use it only for promotion. We didn't want any majors to hear it because we know we can blow it away.

RD: Would you consider altering your style in order to sign with a major?

MP: No!

RD: Do you have any new material written to record when you find a new vocalist? Can you share any new song titles with us?

MP: As of now, we have almost 2 1/2 albums worth of material. Believe it or not, that is only 15 songs! Our songs average between 5 and 8 minutes each, so it adds up. We are now preparing to record a new 4-song, 24-track demo. Some new titles are: ‘Afterlife’, ‘The Killing Hand’, ‘Cry For Freedom’ and ‘The Ytse Jam’ (which is an instrumental). ‘Afterlife’ will be on the new demo, along with three others.

RD: What is the strangest thing that's ever happen to the band?

MP: Meeting each other! I find it incredible that we all found each other. We are also much alike. We're into the same music, have the same sense of humor, we all right in the same direction, we are all level headed people, we are on the same musical levels and we’re very dedicated to try to bring the music to its fullest potential. I wouldn't want to be playing with anybody else and they feel the same way.

RD: What kind of equipment to each of you use?

MP: I play Tama drums (an 11-piece black Imperialstar kit) and use Zildjian cymbals. John P. uses Randall and Marshall amps, B.C. Rich guitars and Boss effects. John M. uses Ampeg amps, Fender Jazz basses and Boss and Ibanez effects. Kev plays Korg and Roland synthesizers and uses Peavey amplification.

RD: Does the band ever find themselves dreaming of fruit-bikers juggling blueberries on top of a school bus?

MP: No.

RD: Any final comments?

MP: Well, we are ready to do the new demo and we are still trying to settle on a singer. If anybody would like to contact us about auditioning or anything else, our address is: Majesty, PO Box 792, Kings Park, New York, 11754, USA.