STUCK MOJO GIGS ARE a force to be reckoned with, as
was evidenced by being
tapped to open the main stage proceedings at this
year's Dynamo Festival. Despite
playing in a downpour, their infectious songs and
inspired performance snapped
thousands of bleary-eyed headbangers out of their
morning stupor. Lead singer Bonz
hops around like a man on the world's most powerful
caffeine buzz, firing out machine
gun style raps over guitarist Rich Ward's aggressive
Metal riffs, all of it backed by a
pounding rhythm section.
SO IT'S DISAPPOINTING that Stuck Mojo's debut album,
1994's Snappin' Necks,
suffered at the expense of a respected alternative
music producer who had never
overseen the recording of a Metal record before.
Although the songs were well written
and delivered with conviction, the final product ultimately
failed to convey the band's true
heaviness. To ensure the situation did not repeat
itself, Stuck Mojo entered the studio in
June with two additional weapons in the arsenal, producer
Daniel Bergstrand of
Meshuggah fame, and Strapping Young Lad front man
Devin Townsend. The end result,
Pigwalk, captured the sound that previously
eluded the band in the studio........
The addition of the multitalented Devin Townsend to
the studio team also piqued my
interest, as Strapping Young Lad are a band renowned
for innovation. How was his
participation secured?
"I've been friends with
Devin for a long time, and we had always talked about doing a
side project... something really intense. But
in the end I called him and asked, 'how
would you feel about coming to Atlanta and helping
with the record?' [Since] I'm the sole
writer in the band, I was really enthusiastic about
working with another writer, and he
came down with a lot of enthusiasm and a lot of fire.
More than anything he was a
positive influence throughout the whole process, almost
like a cheerleader [laughter], but
he knew exactly what our vision was and where we were
going with the songs."