Chrome Division
Björn Luna – Bass

1. What made you want to be a bass player? How long have you been playing?

- Coincidence. I started to play guitar, and the band I was with needed a bass player. So I skipped two strings and from there I’ve been totally comfortable with it. I’ve played since I was 15. I’m 36 now, so it’s been a while.

2. Who are some of your main influences?

- I’ve been influenced by whole bands and not just single musicians. So I must say Kiss, as they were my very first contact with the Rock world. They meant a lot to me in my teenage years. After that bands like Iron Maiden, Motörhead, ZZ Top, Black Sabbath, etc, made my life more livable back in the teenage years.

3. Getting a bit more personal, I understand you like Monty Python. Do you prefer the movies or the actual show? Why?

- I prefer the movies. Because they are so worked through and successful. The series was more varied in quality, even though some of the classic hilarious stuff is from there.

4. I also understand that you like the TV show Futurama. Who is your favorite character?

- Yeah, I love Futurama. It’s a shame that they were canceled. It’s of course a relief that they have started up again and have released two good films. But I prefer shorter episodes. My favorite character is Zapp Brannigan, but I think the whole community (Bender, Fry, Leela and the Professor) is very strong characters and they all work so good together.

5. Getting back to the band, how would you compare Chrome Division with other bands and projects you have been in?

- Once I played in a band called Sideburn Satan. This band had a lot of the same attitude. It was more Punk Rock, but still. I’ve, in fact, transferred lyrics from that band to Chrome Division. It’s the song “Raven Black Cadillac”, which was a song that never made it to an album with Sideburn Satan. The differences are much more evident comparing with my main band Ashes to Ashes. The music in that band is almost the opposite of Chrome Division. Very long songs with layers on layers of music. Theme and time changes and of course lyrics that are far more dark and complex. So playing in Chrome Division is in a way more relaxed and easy. And more fun .

6. What are your feelings on the final product of Booze, Broads, & Beelzebub?

- You know, that’s a bit strange because we recorded this as early as January this year. So we’ve been living with the album for a long time now. I was a bit skeptic to what the studio guys could do with the sound. They make tremendous Metal sound, but we’re more Rock ‘n’ Roll and need a more live and dirty sound. I take it all back. It was real powerful and rough. It couldn’t be better.
The cool thing is that, in spite of the time, the album still sounds really cool and I don’t get tired of it.

7. How would you compare the new album to Doomsday Rock ‘n’ Roll?

- There’s no huge differences, but the variation is more evident. We’ve incorporated a little bit more Punk and good doze of Metal in addition to our Rock ‘n’ Roll basis. The songs are stronger and more instantly catchy. Also this time the production is better. It sounds more powerful due to a good and expensive studio. The debut was a very spontaneous album, and this one is more worked through.

8. What motivation did you use in writing your bass parts for either album?

- The motivation, I guess, comes from the other guys in the band. We all give a lot from ourselves, and that makes us give a lot back to each other. I follow the guitars for the most parts, but some places I stick to the rhythms.

9. Lastly, what can we expect from Chrome Division in the future?

- Hopefully a lot of live shows. We’re really eager to play live now. We’re currently rehearsing a killer live set, consisting of the best from the two albums, plus a surprise or two. After that we will make more songs. We’ve already made one song for the third album, and we have a lot of good riffs lying around. So we’ll see what the future brings. Either way I can promise more fist banging Rock from us in the future.

Cheers, and thanx for the support.

Metal Masters plows its way through Bristow, VA…

To say that the Metal Masters Tour stop at the Nissan Pavilion in Bristow, VA was the greatest and LOUDEST concert I’ve EVER been to would be a complete understatement. Not only was it the best and loudest concert, it was absolutely surreal to finally see some of my favorite bands from around the ’70s and ’80s in action!

The first band to hit the stage was legendary Thrash metal band Testament. I was lucky to get a photo pass for the first three songs of their set, so I got to experience them up close and personal, and they put on an awesome show! Chuck Billy sounds absolutely incredible these days and the whole band looked great. I didn’t recognize a lot of there set because it was made of a bunch of older material and a few of the new songs, but I did happen to catch “Practice What You Preach” and “The Formation of Damnation” out of their set for sure. Overall, Testament put on a sick show and definitely deserved to be on this tour.

The second band to play also deserved to be on this tour as much as anyone, and they don’t call them “the loudest band in the world” for nothing. The band I’m speaking of is none other than Motörhead! As soon as Lemmy and the gang hit the stage and he announced “We are Motörhead and we play Rock ‘n’ Roll”, I knew “it was on” so to speak. Although Lemmy’s bass and Phil Campbell’s guitar were drowned out a bit by Mikkey Dee’s drums, the whole set was great (even though the only song I REALLY recognized was “Ace of Spades”) and Mikey Dee’s drum solo was the best of the entire night. this performance confirmed my thoughts that I need to look more into more of Motörhead’s material, because they absolutely tore it up!

Next after Motörhead was the third out of four bands to play and it was none other than the legendary Heaven and Hell! I was extremely stoked about seeing these guys live because I love Black Sabbath, Dio, and the mixture of the two from back in the early ’80s and in 1992 when they released Dehumanizer with Ronnie James Dio singing again. Honestly, this was one of the most surreal moments I’ve experienced at a concert because of the magnitude of this band and the fact that I have had such a huge respect and love for the music of Black Sabbath for so long. Although the band is reformed under the name Heaven and Hell, nothing has changed for this line-up of guys since Vinnie Appice started drumming for the band halfway through the tour for Mob Rules. Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler absolutely tore it up as usual with Ronnie James Dio sounded just as good as he ever has as they played through songs from all three studio albums they recorded together (Heaven and Hell, Mob Rules, and Dehumanizer). The set started off with “The Mob Rules” and they played songs including (if this isn’t all of the set) “Neon Knights”(encore), “Heaven and Hell”, “The Sign of the Southern Cross”, “I”, “Falling Off the Edge of the World”, “Children of the Sea”, “Time Machine”, and “Die Young”. Overall, I couldn’t have asked for a much better set unless they played a few of the original Black Sabbath songs from the Ozzy years. After they got finished, I couldn’t believe there was still more to go, but my favorite band of all time was coming up next.

That’s right! It was time for JUDAS PRIEST! This set was just as surreal as Heaven and Hell’s since I’ve been a Priest fan for years and this night could not have ended any better than with their amazing set. The set consisted of a few new songs, but it was mostly classics. It all started with the recording of the first track from Nostradamus “Dawn of Creation” until the band ripped into the second track from the album “Prophecy”. After that, I didn’t recognize every song, but I do know they played “Metal Gods”, Breaking the Law”, “Hellbent for Leather” (with Rob Halford on his motorcycle), “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’ “, “The Green Manalishi (With The Two Pronged Crown)”, and more. Overall, I couldn’t have asked for much more of a greater set from these guys either and it was pretty cool to see Rob Halford in about 10 or 11 different jackets and use the elevator and sliding doors in their awesome stage set up! Overall, Ron Halford sounded incredible and K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton absolutely tore it up with Ian Hill and Scott Travis blasting the outdoor venue with absolute bass power.

All in all, I will say once again that this was the best concert I’ve been to hands down and the whole night was just awesome and totally worth a six hour drive. I hope I get the chance to see any of these bands live again!