Carmine Appice

Listen to "Catching Up with Carmine Appice" on Spreaker. You’re unlikely to find a phenomenon like Carmine and Vinny Appice a second time in the history of rock music. For more than forty years, the two brothers have been among the most sought-after and renowned rock drummers worldwide. Carmine and Vinny (each of them on their own) can be heard on numerous legendary albums and have toured countless times with some of the world’s greatest acts. Carmine embarked on his musical path in the 1960s with the unforgotten Vanilla Fudge, manning in the course of his illustrious career the drums for superstars such as Rod Stewart and Ozzy Osbourne, among others. His brother Vinny, who is eleven years his junior, looks back on an equally spectacular career, having worked with acts such as Black Sabbath, Heaven & Hell and Dio, among others. With the exception of the live album Drum Wars – Live!(2014), there has been no direct collaboration between the two so far. That’s about to change! Sinister is the first joint studio album by Carmine and Vinny and was recorded with the support of a number of prestigious guests. Vinny: “As Ringo said: with a little help from our friends.” The album is scheduled for release on Steamhammer/SPV on 27 October 2017 and marks a long-overdue new development for fans of these two outstanding drummers. “We never really planned to make an album together until last year. We`ve always had plans to play live together, starting out with drum clinics,” Carmine and Vinny explain how the album came to happen. “We both had very busy schedules and finally found the time to do shows together which led to the idea of making an album.” The result is – as the Appice brothers call it – “a great-sounding, spine-shaking rhythmic foundation, along with big giant melodic guitars from hell, and on top blazing vocals and melodies that will tear it all up!” Sinister features both new songs and classic tracks from their “long history in a crazy music business,” as Vinny says. Sinister consists of a total of 13 tracks, recorded by Carmine and Vinny together with distinguished colleagues. ´Killing Floor` and ´Future Past` feature the wonderful Craig Goldy (together with bassist Tony Franklin), Franklin resurfacing, together with Paul Shortino, on ´Suddenly` and on ´You Got Me Running`. Shortino also lends his awesome vocals to ´War Cry` and the programmatic ´Monsters And Heroes`, the latter also featuring Bulletboys guitarist Mick Sweda, while Shortino teams up with Whitesnake stringsman Joel Hoekstra on ´War Cry`. Talking of vocals: ´Sinister`, ´Danger` (bass: Phil Soussan), ´In The Night` (guitar: Bumblefoot) and ´Sabbath Mash` (guitar: Erik Turner, keyboards: Erik Norlander) are all sung by Jim Crean, while Chas West recorded the vocal parts for ´Killing Floor`, Scotty Bruce featuring on ´Future Past` and Robin McAuley on ´Riot`. The biggest surprise of all: Carmine himself doubles as vocalist on ´You Got Me Running`. Vinny: “Carmine has been singing lead and background for years. He´s a very good singer and I´m glad he sang one number on this record.” Sinister was produced by Carmine and Vinny and recorded at different locations. Carmine nailed some of his drums in a studio on the East Coast, Vinny cut most of his parts in his home studio. Both together recorded some songs in Jorgen Carlsson`s (Government Mule) studio in Van Nuys, California. Steve DeAcutis mixed & mastered the album. Vinny: “Steve was able to get a fantastic sound on every instrument while keeping the drums vibrant and sounding great.” And how can listeners tell the two brothers‘ drum styles apart? Vinny: “We have similar grooves, fills and feels, but we approach things differently. I play heavier, fast and precise. Carmine plays more grooves and has a more melodic style.” So fans can look forward to a haunting rock album which the Appice brothers plan to premiere live on stage as soon as possible. Carmine: “We cannot wait to take the album on the road! Heavy drums and heavy songs. It will kill!”