Metal Hammer recently caught up with Crowbar frontman Kirk Windstein for a Q&A, which includes talk about his solo album and new Crowbar material. Following is an excerpt:

Q: What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?

Kirk: “My mom told me, ‘If you wanna try and make it in the music business, keep one thing in mind – those who exalt themselves are humbled and those who humble themselves are exalted.’ If you’re a diva or an asshole, people are gonna humble you, but if you treat your fans with respect and appreciate you’re nothing without them, they’ll support you.”

Q: How has it taken you 30 years to go solo?

Kirk: “I’ve wanted to do this for a long time but I just didn’t have the time. First and foremost, I’m a husband, father, step-father and grandfather, then I’m a full-time touring and recording musician with Crowbar. It took me years to decide to do it and then it took two years to complete because I had such little free time, it averaged out to a song every two months. It was a very long process but it was very relaxing working at my own pace.”

Read more here.

Recorded in Windstein's native Louisiana over a period of two years between tours and over holidays, his new solo album Dream In Motion is a powerfully moving recording that pulls from every corner of the riff king's three-decade-plus career. The LP owns a lyrical depth, emotional weight, and musical muscle forged from the fires of thousands of worldwide live shows, a well-earned reputation for creating the melancholic melody that has become synonymous with New Orleans heavy metal, and a reflection on a life well-lived. Windstein’s solo foray is a heartfelt throwback to album-oriented-rock supremacy, eschewing the predictable acoustic record route for a more straight-ahead guitars approach, albeit one that’s no less soulful or meditative than Crowbar fans expect. Kirk handled all vocal duties, guitars, and bass on the album, with drums and effects by longtime producing partner and collaborator, Duane Simoneaux (Crowbar, Down, Exhorder).

A new video for the title track has been released. The video, directed by Justin Reich (Black Label Society, Royal Thunder), is streaming below.

The idea to record a solo album started out as, 'I’m going to do an acoustic record,' but that’s just so cliché, you know?" says Windstein. "Nothing against that, but It’s been done a million times. But I had been thinking about doing something a little more mellow for some time. It’s something I wanted to do, I needed to do. It’s another side of my songwriting, my personality. It’s another side of me. It’s something I did for myself. It’s not even that this isn’t heavy, because there are bits and pieces that are very heavy. But even the heaviest riff on this is something I couldn’t really do in Crowbar. If some Crowbar fans don’t like it, I’ll understand. But I hope people dig it."

The end result is simply stunning. Single note guitar work, simple power chords, clean tones, thundering five-string bass guitar, and standard tuning with nary a “drop” to be heard. “Dream In Motion,” which opens the record, is a barn-burning, rock ‘n’ roll song with just a taste of aggressive attitude. “Hollow Dying Man” is all vibe, with huge melodies and a hardscrabble blue-collar authenticity. The record closes with a faithful rendition of one of Windstein’s most enduring favorites: “Aqualung,” the title track of Jethro Tull’s 1971 conceptual masterpiece.

Tracklisting:

“Dream In Motion”
“Hollow Dying Man”
“Once Again”
“Enemy In Disguise”
“The World You Know”
“Toxic”
“The Healing”
“Necropolis”
“The Ugly Truth”
“Aqualung” (Jethro Tull cover)

“Dream In Motion” video:

(Photo courtesy of Robin Windstein)