Music Feeds recently caught up with The Dead Daisies guitarist Doug Aldrich to chat about the band's new album, the lineup changes, his love of British guitarists and the band’s continuing desire to make people forget about their troubles. Following is an excerpt:

MF: Glenn Hughes joined ahead of this album, replacing John Corabi and Marco Mendoza. Were you able to maintain the existing energy of the band despite the changes in personnel?

DA: "When you make a change on vocals that’s a big deal, that’s a key part of the sound of the band. The thing that I was really excited about was, we weren’t trying to replace John with a similar thing because the band had a sound that we wanted to be. So when I heard that they were speaking with Glenn, they asked me what I thought and I thought that would be really bold and I thought it would be cool. And if we could write together, then it would be awesome. We got together and wrote and it came together really easily. It’s interesting that it’s Glenn because this band is in a similar place to when Deep Purple started – it was kind of a roundabout, people would come in for a couple of albums and then go, including Ritchie (Blackmore) himself actually in the end. So it was an easier transition than I thought just because Glenn brought so much."

MF: Do you think the fact that Glenn is British – and that he’s been involved with some of the most influential bands in British heavy rock history – injected something different into the writing of this record?

DA: "It’s natural, yeah, he’s got a certain thing that he does. For Holy Ground, Glenn had four ideas that he wanted to knock out really quick as demos before we got over to France where we recorded. And so I took my travel recording rig down to Glenn’s house and I just said, 'The easiest way to do this is just for you to play guitar and I’ll program you some drum beats and I’ll record you and we’ll get the idea down and I’ll replace the guitar later.' So we did it that way and Glenn really had a unique sound.

It’s not because he’s a bass player, it’s because he’s English. I consider myself somebody that’s tenacious, so if I work really hard I will figure out how somebody did something musically. And so I noticed when I replaced his guitar on the demo, it had a vibe – it wasn’t a difficult riff, it was just the way he attacked it and timing that he had. He had a certain swagger to it. I had to really break it down and figure out, what the hell’s he doing that makes it unique like that?"

MF: Were you able to put your finger on what was so unique about it?

DA: "It’s an English thing. It’s like the way Tommy Iommi plays, the way Blackmore plays, (David) Gilmore, they all have a thing that’s very English about them. Then you’ve got the Australian guys that have their thing and you’ve got the German guys that are very precise and melodic and then you’ve got the American guys who are more technical guys. I really grew up on, the majority of my guys were British guys. But something about the way Glenn plays is really unique and I think he maybe gets that from not only being English, but being from a certain part of England, near Birmingham, which is where Tommy’s from too."

Read the complete interview here

The Dead Daisies have collaborated with Creative Works (London), a branding and content studio (live concert graphic artists for Guns N’ Roses and Aerosmith, amongst others) to provide the latest visuals for their newest single, “Bustle And Flow”. Together they are forging new ground creating narrative driven real-time immersive visual and music content, that spans live, social and digital channels. This Animated Music Experience (A.M.E) uses the Unreal Engine game engine that is behind the worldwide online video game phenomenon Fortnite, amongst others.

The Dead Daisies are always looking for original ideas and providing unique experiences for their fans. This new offering taps into the gaming aesthetic that dominates the globe and enables the band to connect with audiences of all ages, whilst remaining on the cutting edge of technology.

A spellbinding animation sets the backdrop for the song from their upcoming album, Holy Ground which will be released January 22, 2021.

In this dark, fiery tale a Mysterious Woman arrives at the entrance of a foreboding Sideshow Carnival that has pitched up on the outskirts of town in the grounds of an old dilapidated church graveyard. With stealth and speed on her side, the Raven deals out her punishment outwitting her prey at every turn and subjecting her quarry to a swift demise.

“Filled with energy and vigor, 'BustleAand Flow' emerged as one of the last tracks to make the cut. It builds and builds and has great movement. The song and the video are about walking through the fear,” says vocalist and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Glenn Hughes.

The Animated Music Experience can be seen below:

Lineup:

Vocals/Bass: Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple, Black Country Communion)
Guitar: Doug Aldrich (Whitesnake, Dio)
Guitar: David Lowy (Mink, Red Phoenix)
Drums/Vocals: Deen Castronovo (Journey, Bad English, Hardline)