God's Army A.D Interview

Questions answered by Ian O'Sullivan, guitarist. 

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a
little bit about the band?

God's Army A.D. is a straight up, 'no nonsense' metal band that started 
about 9 years ago, took a little break and now we're back! Hope you 
missed us 'cos we missed you!

2/Recently you have released your first album, can you tell us a little
bit more about the musical sound that is presented on the new recording?

The album contains 8 songs which all derive from our live set from a few 
years back. A lot of reviewers say we sound like a NWoBHM band with a 
modern touch and we're ok with that comparison. We would describe our 
sound however, as 'f**kin' awesome'!


3.The band has been around since 2004 but waited 10 years to put out the
first album, can you tell us a little bit more about the gap?


I spent the gap drinking beer and playing my guitar. I didn't realise it 
was that long!
Seriously though, this album should have appeared in 2006 but we've had 
more than our fair share of bad luck to be honest. During the original
album recording sessions in '06, Mark, our drummer got the offer to join 
Firewind, which he accepted. That stalled things for a while and as we
were looking for a replacement matters took a turn for the worse in 
2007: John A.B.C. Smith, the band's founder, was involved in a car 
accident which took him out of action for a number of years. It was only 
in 2012 that he was ready to re-enter the rat race and get God's Army 
back on track. 



4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores
with the music?

First off, if anyone is looking for songs about dragons or crusaders Â
or any of that worn out nonsense, they won't find it here. Our music is 
hard-hitting, direct and to the point and our lyrics are the same. Some 
of our subject matter would deal with the human condition and the state 
of our civilisation as it stands. We like to question what's going on. I 
won't say too much because we'd like the listeners to interpret the 
songs for themselves. 



5.The band was originally known as 'God's Army' but recently you had
added A.D to it, what was the cause of the slight name change and also
what is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'God's Army A.D'?

Basically, we were advised by our record company to add the A.D. to the 
name to avoid copyright infringement. 
We picked the name 'God's Army' originally just because we liked the 
sound of it. It sounds strong and forceful. Some people when they heard 
of us first assumed we were a Christian Rock outfit but the truth is 
none of us in the band are religious at all. I myself am an atheist. 


6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the
years and also how would you describe your stage performance?

I have great memories of the first show we ever played which was in 
December 2005. We were opening for Paul Di Anno so we didn't expect much 
reaction from the crowd as we were newcomers and everyone there  came
to sing along with Iron Maiden songs. We couldn't have been more wrong! 
The venue was packed for our set and the crowd went really wild for us. 
The atmosphere was electric and we gained a lot of fans that night!
I think we're a pretty intense band live. We enjoy what we do and we try 
to get that across to the audience. People want to be entertained and we 
like entertaining!

7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?


Definitely. The long awaited return of God's Army to the live front will 
happen very soon. All we can say for the moment though is 'watch this 
space! 


8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans
of hard rock and metal?

It's been fantastic so far. We've been very flattered by the reviews 
we've received and we are grateful to the heavy music fans for being so 
patient with us over the years. We just can't wait to start meeting 
people at shows again. 



9.What is going on with the other musical projects these days that some
of the band members are involved with?


Mark Cross has been kept busy with quite a few bands over the last few
years with Firewind and Outloud among them. He just finished a UK tour
with Tainted Nation at the end of May. 
John has been pretty busy getting God's Army back on track but he's 
always busy producing and composing with other musicians behind the 
scenes.Â
I've been fronting an Irish hard rock band called Mockingbird for the 
last three years. We put out a live album last year called 'Live Cuts'. 



10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

I think the style of our music will remain pretty much the same. We 
already have a lot of new material written for the follow up album and
we definitely think that we've found our 'sound'. Our mission now is to 
bring it to the masses!



11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an
influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays/


Irish musicians like Phil Lynott, Gary Moore and Rory Gallagher have 
always had an influence on what I do. So have Maiden, Priest, Slayer and 
Metallica in the early days. 
Nowadays I listen to a lot of different styles but I try to mix it up.
It could be ZZ Top today and then Overkill tomorrow or maybe some laid
back blues the day after. It really depends on my mood. 



12.What are some of your non musical interests?

Beer and motorcycles. I try not to indulge in both at the same time. 

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or
thoughts/

Yes. Go buy God's Army A.D,
Those are my final words. You can shoot me now!


Regards,

Ian O'Sullivan