It is I, Maris The Great!…So, I shall start out by asking you, Candace, to tell me about some of the male, mortal groupies you’ve had while on the road… And please include inches.

Candace: (Much laughter)

Chris: Say it, just say their names…

Candace (Laughs) What names?

Chris: Say it!

Candace (Laughs) We’re not going there. That’s a bad question

There is no such thing as a bad question!

Candace: People don’t want to know about that

But I DO!

Candace: I hook up with four dudes… every day

(Gasp) DO TELL!

Candace: Their names are Chris, Mike, Aarron and Dustin. I hang out with them every day. They are my band.

Grrrr…you tricked me. But…have you seen any of your band’s wee wees?

Candace: (Laughs) NO!

If you didn’t know any of them and were going to pick up one, which one would you pick up?

Candace: Chris, because he’s the skinniest. I could pick him up with no problem.

(Everybody laughs)

You are indeed a slippery, female mortal. You shall now tell me how you began singing for this band.

Candace: I started by not being in a band. I was hanging out with the guys in a band called Pathemy a lot..

Oh…a groupie!

Candace (Laughs) A groupie?!…I was a friend. I used to go to all their shows and practices. I knew all the songs well. They always had two singers. One of them left, so I decided to give it a shot. That’s when I started doing that shit. I remember the first show. I was scared out of my mind. I don’t think I moved one muscle. I just stood there. After awhile, It got more comfortable.

I saw you today (on the Ozzfest stage) and you were most charismatic and ferocious. What enabled you to get to such a point?

Candace: Eight years (laughs). It took me a long time to really get comfortable.

I’ve heard you are also a warrior.

Candace I was definitely the girl in the pit that would tear your ass apart, if you were there.

I heard about you jumping from the stage at one show and beating up some female mortal…

Aarron: Something happened in Chicago because some girl was calling Candace out because of her tattoos or something

Dustin: The “Bitch” tattoo

Aarron: Yeah, she called Candace out and Candace definitely jumped down…I don’t know if they actually fought, but you definitely gave her a good piece of your mind.

Candace: She actually ran out crying…What happened was she got really upset that I have a “Bitch” tattoo across my stomach. It wasn’t something I was showing people…

Except the bands you were sleeping with..

Candace: (Laughs)….So, I don’t even know how she knew, but I definitely went on a rampage and made her feel like a complete idiot. It was a pretty big mess. That was years ago, however. We’ve had our run-ins with people. You know, people yell things at the stage. I’ve definitely offered to fight a lot of people, but nothing like that has ever happened.

Chris: Here’s a Candace fighting story. Cold As Life is playing. Candace is 5′ 2″. This is when she was like 16 years old. She was wearing a triple X large hoodie. Some dude in a Blood for Blood shirt gets a little bit rowdy and she jumps on his back, from behind, and starts punching him in the face until he falls like a big tree.

(Everybody laughs).

Why did she do this?

Chris: Because he was like punching kids in the pit. All the dudes are like “whoa, this guy is being a dick.” and then Candace beat the shit out of him. He hit her and then she jumped on his back and pummeled him in the face until he fell over. I have it on video. I’ll be putting in on You Tube.

Candace: (laughs) You should!

How did the band come together, as a whole?

Mike: Well, Candace mentioned her group Pathemy. I used to be in a band called Earth Mover. Aarron used to be in a band called Universal Stop. Chris was in Counterfeit and Dustin was in a band called Next To Nothing…

Dustin: We were out of Toledo, Ohio

Mike: The rest of us were in the Detroit area. Walls of Jericho began in 1998 and came into being by all of our respective bands all meshing together.

What’s the Metal scene like in Detroit?

Dustin: It used to be awesome. Then it got bad. It’s starting to be pretty good again.

What happened that caused the scene to become stagnant?

Mike: Earth Mover broke up (Every one laughs). After we broke up, all the kids sold out and either became stupid Rock A Billy kids or stupid Black Metal kids. Or they just stopped going to shows in general.

Was Earth Mover Metal or…

Dustin: Earth Mover was kind of a Metalcore band. They one of the first bands doing the great, fast Hardcore with the really good breakdowns. Pathemy was like disembodied.. two singers kind of stuff. Universal Stop was like Biohazard. Counterfit was like straight up Hardcore. And then my old band was kind of like Sick of it All, or Strife kind of stuff.

Did any of the bands gain any notable momentum?

Mike: Earth Mover was actually huge, like in the Detroit area. We were really coming up in the ranks and the shows were ridiculous. There would be like, 6-700 kids there.

Is it possible for a Hardcore band to get huge, but still remain valid?

Dustin: Absolutely. Hatebreed is a prime example of that. They still have their ethics. Even though they go out on big tours, they still play small-ass, shitty clubs, with no barriers and have a fun time.

Tell me about your new release Devils Amongst Us All

Candace: Well, it’s definitely Walls of Jericho but it is a little different. We definitely stepped up this record. Things are structured a little differently. We kind of have a verse/chorus thing going on with gang vocals. A lot of energy. The Metal is straight thrashing. The breakdowns are super, super heavy. I’m really stoked, it’s my favorite record we’ve put out.

Are you trying to sell more records by becoming a little more commercial?

Candace: We’re not trying to be more of anything, other than more of ourselves. There’s just more structure, I don’t think it sounds that commercial.

Chris: We’ve been a band for so long we’re just learned how to write better songs now and how to put them together and getting our idea across more quickly.

How is your writing accomplished.

Chris: I have a drum machine. I play around with shit and come up with ideas and then bring them to practice. I’ll play them for all these dudes. Then everyone picks it apart. Even if I wrote all the parts of a song, it would still be picked apart and someone will say, “Hey what if we did this?” It just evolves into whatever it becomes. Everybody gets input.

What do your songs tend to be about?

Candace: They’re pretty diverse. We talk about life in general. Tons of things. “A Trick Full of Promises” is about not giving up on the idea of love. We also have songs that are about abuse, suicide, working towards a goal in your life and rising above the things that put pressures on your life.

I remember reading once that your music served as a form of therapy for you.

Candace: When I was younger, I needed an outlet to push all the negative things that were going on in my life out – and this music became the way I did it. As we’ve grown as a band, I’ve grown too. I am becoming more of a healthy person. I am taking more control of my life and not letting past take control of me.

What kind of shit do you get regarding mixing Metal and Hardcore?

Chris: Most people know we mix the two. They just expect it. There’s definitely people that see us and are like “Oh this band definitely sucks, they are too Metal.” But then there will be Metal guys that think it’s great that we’re playing thrash riffs. Or a Hardcore kid will be pissed that we’re playing thrash riffs, but his friend will love it. We get the whole spectrum.

What non- Metal/Hardcore bands do you all enjoy?

Mike: I like Beck…A LOT.

Aarron: I like C.C.R. I tell people that and they’re like “WHAT?” I love that band.

Dustin: I LOVE the new Muse record. I keep plugging that in each interview I do.

Candace: I love Alkaline Trio.

They will die!

Candace: I bet they would love that.

Chris: I love shitty Rap, AFI, Chamillionaire.

If you were all going to listen to one band while you masturbated, which band would it be?

Dustin: It would definitely be Queen (laughs)

Candace: Tiger Army

Oooh, me too!

Mike: Sade (Everybody laughs)

Chris: Maroon Five

Aarron: I would probably masturbate to Kelly Clarkson

Speaking of things worthy of masturbation, Dustin, I would like to know about your hairy cadaver

Dustin: What do you want to know about it?

You are a big teddy bear. I would like to run my claws through your bear fur. Have you ever thought of creating money for the band by posing in gay, nude magazines such as “Bear Magazine”?

Dustin: I could…I mean, if that was an option – I totally would. I mean, if someone was like “Hey, you’re pretty hairy. Why don’t you come and pose for me and I’ll pay you.” I’d say, “alright, fuckin’ hook me up.”

Hey, you’re pretty hairy. Why don’t you come and pose for me and I’ll pay you.

(Everybody laughs)

Dustin: (Laughs) How much money do you got?!?

How much money is required

Dustin: 400 dollars an hour, buddy (more laughter).

Is there anything you all want to say to your fans?

Dustin: Bring us cookies. Bring us cookies, brownies and rice crispy treats…and any other kind of confection that we can put in our mouth.

Candace: Starbucks coffee.

Dustin: And bring us money (laughs). If you don’t bring us rice crispy treats, you better bring us some money so that we can go buy some.