Song of the Night #139: “Hell To Pay” by Deep Purple
A few months ago, my college from which I graduated with a 94% GPA, Nimbus School of Recording Arts in Vancouver, invited me for a group gang vocal session. It was kept very hush-hush, and we were not even permitted to hear the full song. Just the part where our chorus would be featured, but I was secretly told it was a Deep Purple project that Legendary Music Producer Bob Ezrin was producing it for the band.
I had worked directly with Ezrin on my first major professional gig for Young Artist’s for Haiti’s Wavin’ Flag, which to my knowledge has raised over $3,000,000 world wide – so far – for Haitian charities due to the utterly devastating earthquake hitting their country a few years ago.
Aside from the coolness of the fact that my very own voice is on a Deep Purple record for now and all times, in an odd way, there’s a super stoked kid inside giving the middle finger, or at least the Metal Horns \m/ for having actually lent my voice to a key NWOBHM song. GGGarth Richardson produced the choral group sing.
Again, it’s not really that big a deal, but the excitement and surrealism of the scenario awakens my teen self attitude of “fuck the world, listen to Metal.” And Deep Purple and the track itself are pure Heavy Metal, the tradition of Deep Purple bore and directly influenced the NWOBHM in a little American band called Metallica.
“To stop the flow of music would be like the stopping of time itself, incredible and inconceivable.” - Aaron Copland
I honestly, and perhaps egotistically, feel like I’ve unwittingly secured my place in the history of NWOBHM for all time, without even having to travel through time. Beyond cool and kinda surreal. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: I own this music
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