Noizzeater recently caught up with ADRENALINE MOB drummer Mike Portnoy (ex-DREAM THEATER) and vocalist Russell Allen (SYMPHONY X). An excerpt is available below:

Q: Mike, the material (on Omerta) had been written before you joined the band so, did you have any input on the final shape of the songs apart from the drum arrangements?

Mike Portnoy: "A little bit here and there but you know, to be honest I'm a team player and I can wear different hats for different projects. In this case I didn't come in like, 'I gotta be a part of the writing and I gotta be involved in this.' I mean the songs were there. If it ain't broke don't fix it. I thought the songs were strong and perfect to begin with. So yeah, there was a bit here and there, where maybe we would chop off something or maybe I'd make an arrangement suggestion or a production suggestion but it was minimal. Everything was pretty much there and I'm fine with that, you know? That's why I wanted to be a part of it, because the songs were already there. That being said though I really am looking forward to a follow up record where we can actually utilise the four way chemistry that we now have and I look forward to the potential that we have in going to the next level as well."

Russell Allen: "When Mike joined the band it was that, it was joining the band. It wasn't saying, 'OK, well, we're gonna do this as a project,' that wasn't what we wanted. We wanted to have a band here, so obviously a lot of work was already done but of course to hear his opinion and feel that he was confident in what was going on was a validation of what we'd already done. So if anything it was great to have him say, 'I love it, I like this.' You know, having that input and stuff on the work that had already been done and also taking song ideas that we had, he stretched them out, he did some cool shit, that's what it is all about, you know? You have to have an open forum in a creative environment in order to achieve the potential of the band. So that's instrumental, even though maybe one person contributes this much or this much at the whole, it doesn't matter how much somebody did , because that one little thing could've been the biggest hook or something or the coolest part or thing that really helped to make the band successful. It's about the combination of everybody involved that makes this band special."

Q: Many reviewers have complained about the cheesiness in the lyrics. So, what do you think did people expect lyric wise?

Russell Allen: "Well the most of people that reviewed the record and had negative things to say about it were obviously our prog fans. You need to put a perspective like I said before. Bringing name value to this project was a hurdle that had to be overcome. Because the initial people that even gave a shit about this band were the people who knew who Mike Portnoy and Russell Allen were and expected certain things from them. The lyrics maybe seem cheesy to them because they're not over the top fantastic, you know Symphony X is more fantasy based or mythologically based, more high literature sort of stuff, you know? Dream Theater is very introspective... This band isn't about trying to wow you with literary expertise. The lyrics are from the heart, you know? If that's cheesy then fuck you, that's all I got to say. This is the heart here, you know what I'm saying? I tell it like it is in this band. That stuff is great but in this band has no place. So most negative reviewers unfortunately are from the world that expected something different from us and what we gave them was maybe something too weird for them to handle."

Go to this location for the complete interview.

Adrenaline Mob recently wrapped up their first ever European tour and have issued the following update:

"A huge thank you to all the incredible European and UK Adrenaline Mob fans for such a great tour! You guys were awesome. Welcome to the family and we plan to come back very soon. Check out all the photo galleries of every show and if you were at the show, tag yourself!!"

Check out three photo galleries below:

(Photo by Robert Grablewski)

Munich, Germany - July 6th

Bochum, Germany - July 7th

Bospop Festival - July 8th

As previously reported, pro-shot footage of Adrenaline Mob performing at the Graspop Metal Meeting 2012 in Dessel, Belgium on June 23rd has surfaced on YouTube and can be viewed below: