BALLISTIC interview by Damjan

Back from the early days spent with Marty Friedman in Deuce, Tom Gattis built a reputation of an uncompromising heavy metal maniac. His distinct sense for multilayered as much as in-your-face explosive music still feels on the eponymous debut release from his new band called Ballistic. So, we spoke to Tom about all things ballistic, while bass player Tim O'Connor joined in to answer one of our questions...

You have a +25 years of experience in playing rock and metal - so, how does it feel to start again with a completely new band?

Great thanks! Fresh start, new people, can’t beet it!

Tim, you spend a lot of time playing fusion jazz. What drove you back to the world of metal?

Tim O'Connor: Hey, I like your mag already! Got the same name as a song from one of my favorite classic progressive albums, YES/Relayer (song 2 of only 3). In the 90’s I got somewhat bored with the rock/metal scene. I have always listened to the Progressive Jazz/Fusion players but more so in the past few years. Taking the long road, or never ending road I should say, of being self taught, I eventually progressed to the point where I could comprehend what they were thinking and playing. It gave me new spark and is extremely challenging. There are some truly amazing players out there to learn from. If you look at Ballistic music from a theory standpoint, it could be considered “fusion” as well. Constant key and time changes and phrasing to the point where at times I could not tell you what key we are playing in. Tom has this incredible ability to break up the songs this way, making the parts fit together and somehow adding superb vocal lines to it! Tom left Wardog and wanted to get a new project going, he sent me a rough draft tape of guitar parts and it caught my ear right away. I really enjoyed playing with Tom in the past. He is a true artist! He could probably write great music in any genre he just really enjoys Metal. The other members are incredible players as well and make it challenging. Like Jazz/Fusion, Ballistic is very challenging.

The debut BALLISTIC album sounds very heavy and almost rough, but still it features a lot of cleaver time changes and odd rhythm patterns. Was it something you consciously wanted to achieve, this strange combination of complex music and straight forward metal?

Thanks for the compliment. It’s not really something I set out to do but it comes naturally. Allot of progressive bands see to miss that driving edge that I like, but honestly it’s just the way I write music. I would have done the same thing in Wardog if I could have, but we just weren’t that technically proficient. This is the way I hear heavy metal, and to me its just heavy metal, nothing more.

Two years ago, you released a demo tape "GONE BALLISTIC". Have you used the tracks from that demo on this album?

No, this is a completely new CD all the way through. We have a new drummer with Rikard and I wanted to make sure his tracks were on there, just more powerful.

On this album I can feel a great amount of musical experience and a taste of "metal history" - it unites elements from various styles and directions. Would you say that it is a result of many years spent in world of music?

Well, I think it’s more like many years spent playing guitar, writing, and singing. My style really hasn’t changed over the years but how good I am on my instrument has. I make sure that I challenge the talents of every member with each successive album. I think there are allot of styles in the album, but anyone who is familiar with my work would hear it and say “yea, that sounds like Tom.”

How would you describe the BALLISTIC's musical style?

Well, it’s the style of all the musicians in the band, and for that you would have to go back to the late 1970’s (again just with better musicianship). But to compare it to bands that came along later I’d say Exodus/Forbidden/ with some Maiden and Saxon. Funny, I heard one person compare it to Pantera. I cannot think of anyone we sound less like than Pantera… except maybe ABBA.

From commercial point of view, how far do you hope to go with BALLISTIC? Do you aim for chart success, or just to have fun and play worldwide gigs?

Well, I have given METAL BLADE an album that is #1 in quite a few soundchecks (and this is above albums that are selling very well), and even more popular opinions with the fans, and that I think is my best work. How do you enter the charts before one album is sold? Get on the cover of magazines/tours/ for months on end. My only job is to deliver an exceptional album, which has happened. I have spent a lifetime watching other bands get popular, so I’m used to it. But you are right; this is not why I formed Ballistic. I formed it to entertain the fans who did understand my music, and to release an album that was an undeniable killer! And then of course to play live! That’s what its ALL about! So in short, I don’t expect to outsell the big budget bands, they have much more money invested in them that must be made back through sales. All I want to do is prove I can make the kind of album that should be huge, and have a great time!

Can you tell me something about the producers JOHN HERRERA and ACHIM KOHLER?

John I have worked with for years and I am very comfortable with him. Achim is just a killer studio guy and I had heard his previous releases. I knew he was the right guy! Both of these guys work well and I think deliver the exact sound I am looking for.

I'd like to ask you a couple of questions about your musical past... Do you remember years spent with MARTY FRIEDMAN in band called DEUCE? How was it to work with MARTY?

Those were crazy times. We were both very young and did some crazy shit!! Marty was an amazing guitarist even back then and the guy really expanded my musical base with some amazing riffing. We totally destroyed other bands in our area because they were so commercial and light rock. There really were no metal bands in our area. By 1979. there began to be a few, but still nothing like DEUCE. We were way ahead of our time.

What happened with TENSION? Why did the band quit playing in 1988?

WE had done all we could do in the Baltimore area and needed to relocate to a more high exposure area. We were getting no help from our record company so we had to do everything ourselves, but we were just too lazy and too comfortable where we were. We also had no idea how much the rest of the world liked the album, we thought everyone hated it and it wouldn’t sell. So there was no reason to go on.

You spent a lot of time playing with WARDOG. What happened there?

Pretty much the same thing happened in Wardog that happened in Tension, just too lazy to really get out and play everywhere. We turned down the European tour with Fear Factory and I knew we were going nowhere.

Ok, back to the BALLISTIC - how come you chose that name for the band?

I wanted a name that sounded fast and heavy, something that really reflected our music. It could not be a dark slow sounding name, it had to jump out and blow your head off!

And to end with I have a couple of laid-back blitz questions:

- Your favorite meal?

My perfect woman.

- Your perfect woman?

My favorite meal.

- Is there a Spinal Tap moment in your career, something that made you feel really funny?

Yea, we used to use pyro back in the very early eighties, and one day we were playing for a packed house. Our stage manager knew the pyro was going to go off and he jumped off the stage and tried to get all the people to move back. They did but he was in between the people and the fire, so the back of his head caught on fire. I don’t know what he is doing these days (maybe working for Great White?)

- Do you believe in the "apocalypse", the "judgment day"? And if yes, how will it look like?

It has to happen because mass extinctions on earth happen every 100,000 years or so. We are destined to become extinct at some point, the question is when. Many people believe that what is happening now is the beginning, could be. But we have not found any of the weapons of mass destruction have we? I think our CD is the weapon they are looking for!!!