Welcome, welcome… thanks for being part of our end of year festivities! First things first: Please identify yourself, and your role in the band. “This is Scott Shapiro, lead singer, rhythm guitar player and all round good time guy!”

And member of Space Vacation to boot! First question: What was the best album you bought this year? “It’s a tie between Free Again from Hell Fire and About Time by Horisont“.
I haven’t heard either of them, though Horisont’s last effort was pretty good. I’ll go and have a listen to both of them! And what was the highlight for you personally in the last year? “Ian Chains from Cauldron quoted some of our lyrics from More is More to us when we opened for them last month. That was a superfan moment for me since I’m a big fan of their stuff. Getting Lost In The Black Divide recorded and released was another huge highlight”.

There’s nothing wrong with the odd superfan moment…What about lowlights? Who stunk the place out musically in 2017? “The award for stinking the place up would have to go to (lead guitarist) Kiyo for what he did in the van after the last show! Lay off the bean burritos, man! This year has been pretty good for us as a band so nothing really to gripe about – just keep on chugging along, raise your flag and see who salutes!”

That’s a very positive mindset to adopt. Less positively, what have you found disappointing about the wider world in 2017? “The amount of hate and vitriol seem to be at an all time high. The lack of acceptance and the desperate clinging to outdated ideas and the simple lack of respect for others is appalling. Also the complete disregard of truth is deeply disturbing. If you need to bring people down to prop yourself up, you get no respect from me. Good thing the heavy metal community is and always has been inclusive. We headbang together for the greater good!”

We do indeed! What’s on the cards for Space Vacation in 2018? “We are working on a music video to support Lost In The Black Divide which should be released early in the new year. We have plans to tour in Europe over the summer and also do some regional touring in the US. We’d love to get to Australia, so all you bookers out there feel free to reach out! Let’s book some shows!”

Let’s hope they’re reading this! We’re knee deep in the party season now– what’s the better night – Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve? And what will you be drinking? “Christmas Eve is a family night, which means I will be drinking whiskey and smoking lots of weed! New Years is more of the party night… which means I will be drinking whiskey and smoking lots of weed!”

You’ve got to have a system! What’s the first thing that springs to mind if I say ‘Australian metal’? “Not that I would call either of these bands “metal” but you can’t think of music from Australia and not think of AC/DC and Rose Tattoo“.

We’ve just started Sentinel Daily Radio – what five songs should every metal radio station have on it’s playlist? “Hallowed Be Thy NameIron Maiden, South of Heaven by Slayer, Metallica‘s Master of Puppets, Hell Bent for Leather by Judas Priest, OverkillMotörhead and as a bonus song (and shameless plug) The Black DivideSpace Vacation“.

If you can’t plug yourself who can you plug? Finally, do you have anything else you’d like to say to the readers of Sentinel Daily? “The darkness took my soul – it made me rock and roll”.

I see. Thanks again for taking part!