On the latest episode of the 80’s Glam Metalcast, vocalist Michael Vescera talks about the early Obsession days, his time with Loudness and Yngwie Malmsteen, and his new project Animaze X. 

On what brought Obsession to an end after Methods Of Madness 

Vescera: "Things were going great. Methods was doing really well. We did a tour of the States and Canada. We had a video on Headbangers Ball. Things were really taking off, but we had a lot of internal problems with a few members. We actually had replaced the the drummer and bass player. It was a lot of ugliness. Drugs, girls, whatever...it just came between us. So it was just Bruce and I that were left and we were trying to keep it going. Things were getting strange and I was getting offers left and right from people. The management and everything was falling apart. I was in discussions with different people and that’s when the Loudness thing came up." 

His thoughts looking back on Soldier of Fortune 

Vescera: "I love that record. It was great, all the songs are killer. The guitar work from Akira, everything was awesome. It was doing well and we were having a lot of fun. They had been looking for a singer for quite some time and the music was all recorded for that. When I came in we got all the lyrics and melodies together. I really dig 'Long After Midnight'.  Another favorite of mine is the song 'Soldier of Fortune'. It just has tons of attitude and sums up what the band was trying to do at the time. We were supposed to tour the US, but the management had been abusing their power and we found out we were broke after Soldier of Fortune. It all almost ended." 

On the story behind On The Prowl

Vescera: "Luckily, we were with Warner Pioneer at the time. They decided to let us do another record and they would fund it and just release it in Japan. Then the funds would be flowing again and we could do a new album for the world. As we were doing that record, the label ended up really liking it and wanted to release it worldwide. That’s why On The Prowl is a little odd. It was going to just be this cover record where we would put English lyrics on the old Loudness songs, because they knew everything we did in Japan would go through the roof. Then they came up with this bright idea of releasing those updated covers along with a couple new songs. It was just a bad idea and I knew it at the time. Warner was paying for it all and we were at their mercy. The funny thing is that record did pretty well in the States. After that album, things just got whacky and went downhill quick." 

On his time with Yngwie Malmsteen

Vescera: "I was playing with some local guys and then I got the call from Mike Varney with Yngwie on the line. Next thing I know, I’m flying to Miami to jam with him and 2 days later I was singing for him. I think Seventh Sign and Magnum Opus had a lot of attitude and were pretty aggressive for Yngwie. Musically, it worked out really well. I prefer Seventh Sign. It was rough making that record. There was a lot of stuff going on with him at the time. Overall, I think Seventh Sign is the better of the two and put him back on the map. That one really flowed out of us, where Magnum Opus was a little more forced. For me and him, it was easy. He treated me great, he loved me. We were good friends at the time. He is just a little difficult with other people. There’s enough stories out there, I don’t need to get into it. When I finally left, there was just a lot of craziness surrounding him with management and his personal life. I got offered a solo deal so I took it. It was time to move on." 

On his favorite album of his career

Vescera: "I gotta go with Loudness - Soldier of Fortune. That was just a magical time, the whole thing. I was a kid from Connecticut and the next thing I know I’m in Japan on every TV show and magazine cover. It was just insane. I just thought that record was killer and I love that whole time."