By John Vidiadakis and Penelope Vlachopoulou

Alan, let's start from the Tower...How did you get into Watchtower? Did you know them before getting into the group? What do you think of their debut "Energetic Disassembly" and on Jason McMaster's vocals?

I was a longtime fan of Watchtower and a penpal of Jason McMaster's before I joined the band. His band, (Tower) and my band (Hades) would open for the same groups at local shows for bands like Anthrax, Megadeth, Slayer, Metal Church, etc... when those bands were touring. We would share stories and help promote each other in our respective areas of Texas and New Jersey. Those were great days. As far as early Tower stuff... I loved Energetic, but the demo Instruments of Random Murder really blew me away! When Jason left Tower to go with Dangerous Toys, he called me to take his place. At that time however Hades was on their way to Europe for what turned out to be an ill fated tour. When it was certain that Hades would break up, I wrote to Doug Keyser from Holland to let him know I'd like to try out when I got home. I did, and about a month later we were on our way back to Germany to record Control & Resistance.

Right before you join the band, Mike Soliz was the singer in Watchtower, just after Jason McMaster's departure. Do you maybe know why he left?

I think it was the gay gloves he wore at their shows. That would have made me kick him out! Nah, seriously though I think those guys thought his voice was a bit lacking when they played live and that's why they asked him to leave. You'd have to ask Rick, Ron or Doug though for the real scoop.

Generally speaking, back in 1987-88, did you consider that it was ideal for you then to join Watchtower?

Hell yeah! They were a one in a million band. There truly is no other band like Tower.

"Control and Resistance" is one of the corner stones of prog metal. Despite that, few of today's groups choose to follow your way. What is it so?

Who knows... Perhaps it is too much to absorb for the average listener. Most bands have the notion that in order to make it their music has to be easy to catch on to. I guess it's just a preference of music sometimes too. Quite honestly, few people could play like Tower anyway. Those guys were on a level all their own.

What do you think led Watchtower into such a unique musical character?

The personalities of the players. No one thinks like those guys. You should have seen rehearsals! They would come up with the nuttiest ideas but deep down they were brilliant! Songs were created using morse code and a special alphabetic pattern they devised for their fretboards. Not your average jam session.

There is a rumour that you left Watchtower after "Control and resistance" because the new songs demanded so high-ranged vocals that you were afraid for the health of your voice. Is it true? If not, why did you leave? 

I wonder who atrwsted that rumor? The truth is that there were two things going on at the time that caused my departure. Ron's fingers were in real bad shape and the doctor wasn't sure how much guitar playing he could do if any. That, coupled with the fact that the band did not dig some of the lower register vocals I was coming up with for the new stuff led me to leave. Also, there was very little new Tower material to speak of and Noise was anxious for new songs. It all lead me to take the gig I was offered in Non Fiction at that time. I wanted to grow as a singer and Tower seemed adament on my singing everything real high. I wanted to broaden my vocal range and they were not into it at all. Quite frankly the demo tape that Scott from Confessor sang on when he tried out for Tower (after I left) was some of the
best stuff I'd ever heard from the band. Too bad they didn't take him back then.

Let's go now in Hades...The first two Hades albums have a unique, technical and mature character that leads many people in considering them as pre-progressive acts. Do you agree    with that?

It's a bit progressive yes, especially in the rhythm section, but basically I've always seen Hades as an aggressive, melodic metal band. I don't think we fit in alongside the Dream Theaters and Fates Warnings so much, but rather we were more like a juiced-up Iron Maiden back then. Today I see us as retaining the melody  and agression, but we are always trying to broaden
our sound.

There is a live album you released in your early Hades years,Live on Location.Why did you choose that time to release a live album? Wasn't it a bit early?

Well, the story with that is the live cd was taped at a reunion gig when Hades was already broken up. NF's label at the time, Grand Slamm, offered to release it and so we did it. I think it's one of our best soundiing cds, since our first two studio efforts were not the best sounding. (The digitally remastered rereleases of the first two cds sound much better than
the originals though.)

What led Hades in splitting up, and how did you finally come together again?

We could not handle being on the road together and we were constantly butting heads on tour. At a certain point in our European tour it just became unworkable. I had the Tower offer waiting and it seemed the proper time to take a trip to Texas to explore that opportunity. We regrouped after many years to put out SaviorSelf on our own. We just wanted to make a great metal record  and getting signed by Metal Blade was not anticipated. It was a blessing though because they were able to market it way better than we ever could have.

Also, which are the main differences in Hades before and after the reunion?

Mostly the rhythm section I guess. Dave our drummer brings a new and much needed aggressive, yet technical feel to the songs. The riffs are more powerful than ever and I'd like to think that I'm growing as a singer. We are still a "metal" band in the true old school sense of the word, but I think we have matured as songwriters and players.

The new Hades album called "The Downside" is ready I think, so please give us some more details on that. Will it contain the US metal elements that "$avior$elf" had, too?

I think it blows SaviorSelf away, but every band thinks that their new disc is the best. The Downside has the most diverse singing I have ever done and Dave even sings a song by himself. DD from Overkill plays bass on one song and Billy Milano does some screaming on the last track. Overall, the songs are melodic and heavy. Hopefully the fans will dig it.

The lyrics of Hades have much of a political and critical  touch. Why do you choose to write about things going wrong in your country? Do you think that this kind of lyrics can make some people think?

I'd like to think that it reaches some people and makes them think, but I do it simply because I cannot write about stuff I don't believe in and therefore I choose to write about the things that matter to me. Let's face it, there are many people who do not even care about the lyrics at all. It's worth it for me as a writer to reach even just one person though. I guess my goal is to try to elevate people's consciousness, but I know that the reality is many people either won't get it or just won't care.

There have been quite a few changes in the Hades line-up throughout the years. Do you think that these changes had a  positive effect on the band?

The only member of the band now that is not from the original lineup is Dave. Scott LePage plays bass now, (he was originally our lead guitarist) but that is all that is different. As I said, I think we've all grown a lot, so yes, I'd have to say that I think whatever changes have taken place were positive ones. Honestly, Jimmy Schulman does not have his shit together enough to have played in this lineup (we jammed with him and it was very bad) and Tommy Coombs who was once one of the best drummers in metal plays straight forward rock now. I mean one of the last bands he was in was Trixter during their failed comeback. Frankly, I think that's reason enough not to jam with him.

You are one of the busiest artists, since you have participated, apart from Hades and Watchtower, in Power, Non Fiction, All Time Low and others. Many people don't know a thing about these groups and about your co-operation with other artists, so could you give us some more details on these facts?

The Power cd was simply a paid gig that Dan Dalley asked me to do. It was a lot of fun and I did it because it put my voice to the test of singing all that high stuff again. I wanted to see if I still had it in me. Dan is a good guy and I wish him well. Non Fiction released three cds with me (and an EP before I joined) and All Time Low was a project that I did with Non Fiction drummer Mike Cristi. (Mike played guitar in ATL though.) We recorded two demos which I hope to release one day as a cd, but it was never my intention to try and get ATL signed and touring. That band was more like a hippy/trippy Non Fiction. We did it simply for fun. We played a bunch of NY/NJ/PA gigs and had a  small following of friends and former NF and Hades fans. All in all it was a great expressive period for us all. Dave Jengo formerly of Revenant played bas with us and our original drummer was Steve Truglio who was later replaced by Forrest Leighton.

You used to sing in extremely high ranges. Why did you choose this way of singing and what comments did it gain back then? Also, why don't you do it anymore?

Generally, people either hate or love my voice. I began singing high because it came easy for me. I enjoyed being able to see just how high I could sing and how long I could hold a note. As time went by though, it became very one dimensional and boring for me.  Also, I do still sing in my upper register, but not all the time. I use my high voice when it is called for in a song. I think there is some great high stuff on SaviorSelf and our new one. Dan Lorenzo noticed recently that I tend to sing high when the music is fast. We are now writing songs for the follow up to The Downside and they are pretty fast so you may hear even more of that the nex time out. Constant high singing sounds the same after a while but occasional use can make it sound very cool.

Which singers do you consider as your main influences and which new singers would you consider as the best ones?

Halford and Plant were big influences on me as was Geoff Tate. Today I would say the guy from Opeth, Warrel Dane and maybe Phil Anselmo are very good.

You can be named as the Geddy Lee of prog metal since your voice is equally extreme for the prog metal standards as was Geddy's for the prog rock standards. What do you think of that?

That is very flattering. I don't think I'm nearly as talented as Geddy, but he was definitely a big influence on me. RUSh was a huge influence on the Tower boys for sure.

What do you think when a new artist refers to Watchtower or Hades as a great influence for him? Did you ever imagine that your works would have such an impact?

Again, it's very flattering. No, I did not think we would have such an impact on other artists, but it is always nice to hear when someone comes up to me and says they like any of the stuff I've done. It's great to know people are listening, what with the huge amount of bands that are out there. To answer your question though, no, I never thought I would have had such an impact on others.

Give me a short comment on each one of the following groups:

Fates Warning-
Ray Alder!!!!!! He is the man. Have you heard their cover of Saints in Hell. It is amazing. He is amazing.  Enough said.

RUSh-
The forefathers. They lost me around the time of Hold your Fire, but the old stuff like A Farewell To Kings and Caress of Steel still holds up today.

Dream Theater-
Nice bunch of guys. Very talented and I heard a new song on the radio recently which sounded cool and heavy.  The first cd had some amazing songs as did Images and Words... I would have enjoyed hearing James sing on the first disc!

Judas Priest-
Yeah!!!!! Who cares if Halford's a flamer. Who didn't know that!? He has one of the best voices ever in my opinion.

Destruction-
Old school metal! It's great that these guys have stuck it out for so long. I was never a big fan though.

Metallica-
The originators who broke down the doors for all metalheads to follow. I don't really like their new sound, but God knows they've paid their dues!

Mekong Delta-
The litttle I've heard from these guys was cool. But it's been a long time. I'm not up on any new stuff they might have.

Sieges Even-
These guys came to see Watchtower when we toured in Germany but I did not get to meet them. It was right when they had released that cd where they cut their hair and the packaging and sound was much like RUSh. Good band.

What do you think on today's prog metal scene? Does it deserve to be named "progressive"?

Sure. Why not. To me anyway, progressive should mean pushing the boundaries of music, not just sounding like a modern version of YES.

You will be playing in Wacken Festival in Germany. Do you enjoy playing live?

Very much so, although I would not enjoy touring in a van again and starving. Ten years of that was enough! I can't wait to play Wacken!!!!!! It is going to be so much fun. We pretty much only play select gigs now in order to make them special and because we are all very busy with our jobs and life in general.

Which are the most pleasant and the most bitter experience you have from live gigs?

One of the best would have to be the Non Fiction show in Stuttgart. That one was amazing. The crowd carried me all the way out to the soundboard and then back-awesome fans! Any of the hometown gigs for Hades or NF would qualify too. They were always overwhelming. The worst show for me hands down would have to be The Roxy in Long Island, NY where NF played with Life of Agony and Type-O-Negative. The skinheads there hated my voice and were throwing coins at me all during the show. The really depressing thing was that they liked my band, they just hated my voice. That was a very depressing night. The only upside is that I made a few bucks once I picked up all the change they threw!

Also, there were a few but legendary live perfomances of Watchtower, where you used to do some really weird cover songs. What do you remember from these times?

Great stuff! We covered Like A Virgin, Billy Jean, and before me they did the theme from Frogger and many others. Covers I did with Tower include the live version of 2112 and Bytor & The Snowdog by RUSh. Playing with those dudes was such a unique experience.

Give me the 5 albums of your collection you would never give away, and the 5 songs that speak about Alan Tecchio's life.

5 that I'd never give away:

1) The Cure-Pornography
2) Black Sabbath-Sabotage
3) Slayer-Reign In Blood
4) Judas Priest-Rocka Rolla
5) Entombed-Wolverine Blues

5 that speak about my life:
1) Life Of Agony-How It Would Be
2) RUSH-Between The Wheels
3) God Lives Underwater-Medicated To The One I Love
4) Faith No More-Kindergarten
5) Chris Isaak-Blue Spanish Sky

Generally speaking, what does music mean to you?

The freedom of expression and a chance to sing, something that I have loved to do since I was a child. Music can stop time and bring you back to a place when you hear a song even years later. It is one of the most amazing things in this world and I will never let it leave my life even if Metal Blade drops us or whatever. It is a personal, cathartic release that helps me balance my life.
 

(the Hades homepage lies at www.hadesusa.com)