PH: That song is based on a true story connected to GHB that happened in the UK a couple of years back. A woman who was addicted to the drug pulled all her own teeth out with a pair of pliers whilst hallucinating. I found the event so disturbing that I tried to tell the tale in a song. The lyrics are based on what was going on in her mind as it happened, the feelings she said she had and the visions she had seen. The chorus brings together the moral of the tale, so to speak, about paying the price to "feel good".
SW: Some might label you as a pessimist. Do you feel your lyrics are pessimistic or just your take on reality?
PH: Pessimist? Me? (laughs), no I'm quite an optimist really. I just think that it's too easy to get desensitized to what's going on in the world and sometimes we all need reminding. Writing the lyrics is my way of making sure that the events that concern me are not pushed to the back of my mind to be forgotten. Whether it's a current issue like terrorism or an ancient issue like genocide, we all need reminding of what's inhuman now and again.
SW: Very well put. On a whole different subject...what was it like being apart of the so-called New Wave Of British Heavy Metal (back in 1980). Did you mind being labeled as NWOBHM, simply because the band formed during that era? I mean, it's obvious Legend were quite different from other bands from that era like Def Leppard, Iron Maiden, Saxon, Samson, Tygers Of PanTang etc.
PH: We made no conscious effort to be part of any movement. We just happened to be playing metal at the time the NWOBHM scene took off and the connection was made. I'd been writing and playing similar music for quite a few years before then and didn't perceive what we were doing as anything other than our own breed of metal. I think a lot of bands jumped on the NWOBHM
bandwagon, hence why so many sounded alike and sang about similar subjects - demons and witches especially! (Yawn) But because we were isolated, in Jersey, one of the UK Channel Islands, we were able to forge our own path free from unnecessary influences and develop our unique style.
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