CROWNED BY FIRE Axe Man Talks Gear, Influences and Wylde Conversations
December 31, 2011 by Rustyn Rose
Filed under Crowned By Fire, Interviews
Q&A with Justin Manning
If Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino ever have need of a bar band for their next Grindhouse installment, Crowned By Fire may be the perfect choice. Equal parts barroom brawl boogie and attitude riven metal, the SoCal quartet are a straight, no-chaser kind of band. Fuck the frills and the yearly trends, these guys just crank it and kill it.
Crowned By Fire is the bastard love child of guitarist Justin Manning and vocalist John Fitterer. The group is rounded out by drummer William Liermann and bassist Chris Breedlove. The band’s debut album, Prone To Destroy found the band circling the globe, recording in Italy, Florida, and Southern California. The album is a solid metal gauntlet that gives fans a first raw taste of what is to come. The band’s follow-up album is expected to be recorded in spring 2012 with legendary Pantera producer, Sterling Winfield at the helm. Pretty heady stuff, indeed.
One listen to Prone To Destroy and you’ll hear influences from Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin to Black Label Society and Rob Zombie, some grungy Alice In Chains moments, of course Pantera influences, and even some outlaw, rebel country flavors. It may sound like your hearing guitar legend Zakk Wylde at moments, which should not be surprising as Manning spent a good amount of time on the road as Zakk’s guitar tech. The two spent countless hours talking music, technique, and much more.
Earlier this month I had the opportunity to chat with manning as he worked his day job making electronic clapboards for the movie industry. We talked about the current album, the next album, influences, gear and much more. So, Take One: Justin Manning, The Wylde protegé unleashed…
